Foundling Family
by Amelia Wolfson
Summary: Picking up from the series finale, The Family Hour. Who is this child, where did it come from? Finally complete! *Any and all recognizable dialogue and characters do not belong to me.*
1. Intro

Previously on Lois and Clark:

 _Lois and Clark had just settled into bed, both relieved that the mess with Fathead was over with but saddened that it cost Sam and Ellen their memories of Clark's secret identity. They had hoped that Sam would be able to find a way to help them since it seemed the county adoption agency had little to no interest in allowing them to adopt a child. They were just about to drift to sleep when Clark jumped up._

 _"What?" Lois asked, noting the confused look on her husband's face, "What do you hear?"_

 _"I'm not sure," His brow furrowed in concentration as he struggled to find an explanation for the sound._

 _"What does it sound like?"_

 _"I can't actually believe what it sounds like." He responded, bemused as he rose from the bed and pulled on his robe and glasses._

 _Lois quickly followed suit, tying the sash of her robe as she descended the stair behind her husband. As they reached the main floor of the town home, they noticed a faint, glowing, light coming from the den where they'd left the bassinette Jonathan and Martha had given them. Giving his wife one last look, Clark slowly slid the doors open. Neither of them could believe their eyes as they approached the now occupied cradle. Beneath a deep blue blanket which bore the symbol of the House of El lay an infant no more than a few months old._

 _At the child's feet was an envelope bearing their names, Clark slowly lifted the envelope and removed the missive contained within. "'Lois and Clark, this child belongs to you.'" He read, awe and disbelief in his voice as his wife pulled back the blanket and examined the infant._

 _"Oh Clark, she's perfect," Lois cooed, lifting the child into her arms. Smiling gently as the girl snuggled against her breast._

 _"Is everything alright?" They heard the sound of Jonathan's voice along with the sounds of their parents as they came down the stairs._

 _"We saw the light on," Sam added._

 _Sharing a look, the new parents came back into the living room. Clark was the first to enter, "Mom and Dad …and Mom and Dad," He addressed them, "We have something we need to tell you."_

The four grandparents watched in awe and wonder as Lois came from behind her husband, holding a swaddled infant in her arms. "Meet your granddaughter."

* * *

"Oh my goodness!" Martha was the first to speak, "She's precious, where did she come from, she wasn't here an hour ago."

"That's just it, Mom," Clark guided his wife and new daughter to the love seat as their parents took seats on the couch and chairs nearby, "We don't know where she came from, she was wrapped in a blanked like I had when you found me and had a note saying that she was ours."

Martha and Jonathan shared a knowing look while Sam and Ellen looked with confusion over the revelation. "Does she have a name?" Martha asked.

"We haven't quite decided yet," Clark shook his head overwhelmed, "We only just found her a few moments before you came down." He looked at his wife for confirmation.

"Yes, we'll have to think on it for a bit and we'll let you know as soon as we figure out what we want to call her." Lois agreed, "I think for the time being though, we should all get some sleep, it is the middle of the night, after all."

"A very good idea," Sam agreed, standing and helping his wife to her feet as Jonathan did the same for Martha. The older couples bid the new parents and their newly arrived grandchild goodnight and headed up the stairs.

"You take her up, I'll get the bassinette," Clark smiled at his wife and daughter, amazed at how strange and wonderful his life was.

"Okay," Lois kissed him and headed toward the stairs, "Don't take too long."

"I won't," He assured her.

"You might want to pick up some diapers before you head up, too," She suggested

"Good idea," He agreed, running up, depositing the bassinette, and dressing at super speed before heading out to the 24-hour mart down the street as his wife settled on their bed, still cradling the now sleeping infant in her arms.

Moments later, Clark returned, arms laden with bags of diapers, bottles, formula, and a variety of other baby items. "What did you do, buy out the whole infant aisle?" Lois teased.

"I wasn't sure what she needed, so I just kinda go one of everything." He blushed, setting the bags down and spinning into his pajamas once more. "How's our little girl doing?"

"Sleeping, at least for now," Lois assured him. "What do you think we should call her?"

"I suppose, 'Hey You,' is out of the question?" Clark teased, sliding into bed next to his wife and laying his arm over her shoulder as he looked down adoringly at the small child in his wife's arms. It was funny, it was almost as if he could see features of himself in the child, but he knew that couldn't be possible, or could it? "I was thinking that she seems to be Kryptonian, if the blanket is any indicator, and of the house of El, maybe I have relatives on New Krypton that I don't know about."

"Are you wanting to give her a Kryptonian name?" Lois gave him a questioning look.

"Maybe, but something that could easily pass as an Earth name," Clark thought out loud, "It seems the women's names seem closer to Earth names than the male ones do."

"I suppose it's a good thing she's a girl then," Lois gave him a knowing smirk, a moment later a thoughtful look passed across her face, "I have an idea, your birth mother was Lar-Ra of the house of Ra, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Clark looked at his wife, curious as to where she was going with this line of thought.

"Well it sounds like the Earth name Laura," She continued.

"Uh huh,"

"And you are of the house of El," Lois continued, looking down at the infant in her arms, "What if we called her Laurel? After your birth mother and she would carry your birth family's name."

"Lar-El, Laurel, I like it." Clark smiled, "This naming this is easy. Hey Laurel, I'm gonna be your Daddy."

"For the man of steel, you certainly are a softy." Lois smiled adoringly up at her husband.

"Only for my girls," He grinned, "Both of whom should probably get some rest, why don't you lie down and I'll put Laurel back in the bassinette."

"Okay," Lois yawned, passing the child over to her father's arms, "Don't forget to support her head."

"I got it, Hunny," He assured her, cradling the infant to his strong chest.

Lois watched in wonder as her husband, clad only in his boxers gently carried the sleeping child to her bed. She couldn't believe how natural it looked to see him cradling the child in his arms. She smiled softly as he laid the girl down and gently covered her before placing a soft kiss on her head.

Looking up, he caught her staring, "What?"

"Nothing," Lois smirked and shrugged, "Daddy just looks good on you. Almost as if you were born to be a father. You are going to be so amazing with her."

"You are too," Clark assured her as he pulled his wife into his arms, "I know you didn't have the best childhood, but we're not our parents. We'll figure this out together, one day at a time. Sure we'll make mistakes, but in the end, she'll turn out just fine."

"You think?" Lois snuggled into his chest.

"I know," Clark kissed her forehead, "I have faith enough for the both of us. Now get some sleep, Laurel will no doubt have us up before we know it. Good night, Lois."

"Good night, Clark," She smiled, drifting off to sleep, happier than she'd been in a long time. She had a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, what more could a woman ask for?


	2. Chapter 1

Clark awoke to the sound of soft snuffling and humming. He couldn't help but smile at what he saw; Lois was sitting in the arm chair opposite the foot of their bed and humming as Laurel greedily drank from her bottle. "Hey," He smiled sleepily.

"Hi," She smiled back before dropping her eyes to the little girl in her arms. As soon as the bottle was drained, she effortlessly threw a rag over her shoulder before laying the girl against her check, patting her daughter's back gently. A loud belch echoed through the room to the amusement of the new parents who chuckled. "I see she takes after you," Lois teased.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll take after you, too." Clark laughed, walking over and crouching in front of his wife, "Even if it is you getting to share your affinity for double fudge crunch bars."

"Oh you know I will," Lois lay the girl back in her arms, "Assuming she goes for that. Do Kryptonian like chocolate?"

"I know I do," Clark shrugged and ran a hand softly over the downy soft hair that stuck out from his daughter's head.

"Do you want to hold her?" Lois suggested.

"Hand her over," Clark smiled as he accepted the infant into his arms, "I'm surprised she didn't wake me up." He commented, rocking the girl in his arms as he made his way back to the bed before floating up and settling gently on the bed.

"Show off," Lois muttered good naturedly as she climbed in next to them, "And the reason you didn't hear a peep from her was that she didn't cry or anything; I just happened to be up when she woke up."

Clark nodded his understanding, "You sure took to the whole Mommy thing quickly for someone who was so worried she couldn't do it just a week ago."

"Hmm," Lois sighed, leaning her head on her husband's shoulder and gazing down at their precious addition, "I think the time I spent with the kids in the Toyman's dungeon helped."

"At least some good came of it," He agreed, kissing her forehead as they watched Laurel sleep contentedly in her father's arms.

As soft knock interrupted their reverie as the door slowly opened to reveal Martha and Jonathan, "Are you going to hide her away up here in your fortress of solitude?" The older woman teased, "Her grandparents are wanting some time with her too, you know."

The younger couple chuckled, "We'll be down in a minute, Mom." Clark promised.

Nodding, the older couple made their retreat as the new family set about getting reading for their day. Fifteen minutes later, both Lois and Clark were dressed for work and making their way down the stairs. Lois was carrying Laurel in his arms while Clark secured his top button and tightened his tie about his neck. "Good morning," He sang, giving his mother a quick peck on the cheek as he grabbed a cherry Danish from the tray she was carrying to the coffee table.

"Morning, Sweetie," She smiled up at him as she took a seat on the couch next to her husband who had just finished pouring coffee for everyone. "Do you have to go in today?" She asked, noting the clothes her son and daughter-in-law wore.

"Yeah," Lois sighed, shifting the sleeping infant in her arms so she could take a sip of her coffee, "With all the excitement yesterday, we didn't get a chance to let Perry know about recent developments."

"Luckily there is a childcare on the ground floor of the Planet for employees." Clark added, taking his daughter from his wife's arms so she could eat easier.

"Oh pish," Martha lightly scolded, "You will do no such thing. Not when you have your father and me, as well as Sam and Ellen, here. We can watch her for today, maybe do a bit of shopping while you are at work."

"Really?" Lois couldn't hide the excitement in her voice, "You don't mind? We wouldn't want to take advantage; I mean you are on vacation."

"Nonsense," Martha countered, "That's what family does, besides I need to get all the Grandma time I can while I'm here." She checked the stairs to make sure Sam and Ellen were still out of earshot, "Besides I've already raised one Kryptonian child, caring for another for a day or three should be a snap."

"Okay Mom, if you're sure," Clark gave in.

"Of course we are," Jonathan chimed in, "It'll likely take a while to get all her paperwork together and legalized so you can take her to that childcare anyhow. Besides, it's the slow season, the hands can handle things around the farm long enough for us to stick around until you have everything sorted."

"Thanks, Dad," Clark gave the older man an appreciative look.

"Good morning," The rich voice of Sam Lane intoned.

"Morning Daddy," Lois accepted a hug from her father.

"Lois, what are you wearing?" The judgmental voice of Ellen soon followed, "You can't possibly be considering returning to work today."

"Good morning, Mother," Lois rolled her eyes, "And yes, as a matter of fact Clark and I are going to work today. We haven't had time to let Perry know yet. I'm sure once he knows, he'll get us some days off to get things settled here."

"I suggested we take care of the little one today," Martha joined in, "Maybe take her shopping, get her some cute outfits, indulge in a little grandma bonding time. I was hoping you would be interested in joining in."

"We would love to, wouldn't we Sam?" Ellen turned to her husband in a silent plea for his acceptance.

"Sure, sounds wonderful." Sam beamed.

"Did you decide on a name yet?" Martha queried.

"Yes, we did," Lois smiled up at her husband.

"We are happy to introduce you to Laurel Lane Kent." Clark informed them proudly.

"What a beautiful name," Martha cooed.

"We wanted to honor all our parents," Lois added, looking straight to the Kents.

"I'm sure your birth parents would have been thrilled as we are, Son," Jonathan spoke proudly. Shooting a confident grin at his son.

"Now hand her over before you're late to work." Martha instructed teasingly. As she walked over to accept the child from her son's arms.

"Thank you again, Martha," Lois smiled warmly at the older woman before bustling around the house grabbing her purse, briefcase, notes, and the seemingly hundreds of other necessities she required for work. As she moved, she rattled off instructions to the older couples, "I fed and changed her a little bit ago so she should be fine for a little while. Clark did a quick run to the store last night, there are diapers and wipes in our room near the bassinette and formula and bottles in the cabinet to the left of the sink, be careful you don't heat it…"

"Honey," Clark placed a gentle hand on his wife's shoulder and guided her to the door. "I think they can handle it; between the four of them, they managed to raise three children relatively unharmed to adulthood."

"I suppose you're right," Lois gave in and allowed him to guide her out the door. Just as Clark was about the close the door, she spun on her heel, remembering one last piece of information to give the group, "We both have our pagers and cell phones if you need to get a hold of us for any reason while we're at work."

"Lois, we're going to be late," Clark groaned, an amused chuckle in his voice as he shook his head at her antics before guiding her through the doors once again. "We'll see you tonight."

"Bye, Son," Jonathan called as the door closed behind the new parents.


	3. Chapter 2

The hustle and bustle of the news room flowed over and around them as they stepped off the elevator. "There you two are," Came the drawl of the illustrious Editor-In-Chief, "I was expecting your Fathead article well over an hour ago. How am I supposed to run a quality newsroom when my two best reporters are AWOL?"

"Sorry about that Perry," Clark grimaced, "Something came up last night."

"I'll just bet it did," Perry gave them a knowing look.

"Nothing like that," Lois chuckled uncomfortably.

"Then tell me what could have possibly happened to cause you to miss your deadline?" Perry demanded before looking back at Lois, "You didn't go and get yourself kidnapped again did ya? Honey, you need to stop doing that?"

"You say that as if I have any control over that kind of thing," Lois scoffed before looking the old newshound in the eye, "No Perry, I wasn't kidnapped." She rolled her eyes.

"We were actually hoping we could talk to you," Clark looked around, "In private?"

"Sure, sure," The older gentleman nodded, "Come into my office."

The pair followed him in, as Lois took her seat, Clark closed the door before sitting next to his wife on the large red plaid couch in the editor's office as Perry took a seat in the matching high back chair. Perry watched the couple who took each other's hand, fingers linked, borrowing and lending strength between them for whatever it is they had to tell him. He had a feeling at the pit of his stomach that whatever it was would be life changing not only for them but for the Planet as well.

"Now what is going on with the two of you?" Perry asked in a fatherly tone, "You're okay aren't you? You're not dying or anything are ya?"

"No, we're fine, better than fine," Lois started with a nervous chuckle, shooting a look to her husband who squeezed her hand reassuringly before turning her focus to Perry.

Something shifted in the older man's eyes as the implications of what she might be suggesting clicked in his head, "You're not…" He gestured toward Lois' stomach.

"No, but you're not far off," Lois shrugged, trying to find the right words to tell the man who had been more of a father to her than her own in recent years.

"You know how we had a meeting with that woman from county yesterday?" Clark started from where his wife left off.

"As I recall, it didn't go well," Perry studied the pair's faces.

"Well, even if she didn't like us all that well," Clark chuckled before being cut off.

"She loved you, it was me she didn't like," Lois grumbled.

"We must have made an impression on someone because late last night, we got a placement." Clark continued.

"'A placement?'" Perry tilted his head and gave them a questioning look.

"Yeah, a little girl about two or three months old." Clark continued, "We decided to call her Laurel."

"Great shades of Elvis!" Perry crowed, "You mean to tell me that you're parents?" He questioned excitedly.

"Yes, we are," Lois beamed up at her husband, "You should see her Perry, she is absolutely gorgeous."

"Then what in the name of all things blue suede are you doing here?" The old newshound demanded jovially.

"Turning in our story, for one," Lois reached into her bag and pulled out the typed article, "And to let you know so we might be able to work out getting some days off to get Laurel settled."

"Of course, take all the time you need," Perry enthused, "Within reason, of course. Do you need your leave to start today?"

"No, our folks are watching her today," Clark smiled, "Maybe we could start it after the weekend so we can finalize the legal side of the adoption. Once that's done we'll get her set up at the childcare."

"Sounds good to me," Perry stood, shaking Clark's hand before hugging Lois, "This has got to be some of the best news I've gotten all day."

"Well we'd better get back to work," Lois gestured towards their desks, "Especially since we got in late. Oh, you're welcome to come by and meet her some time, Alice too."

"We heard the two of you are giving it another shot," Clark added, "I hope it works out for you two."

"Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding?" Perry questioned, "I mean with your folks all there…"

"It'll be more than fine," Lois assured him, "She needs as many grandparents, aunts and uncles as she can get. Besides my folks are heading back home tonight so it'll just be Martha and Jonathan at home."

"Sounds good," Perry nodded as he shifted into editor mode once more, "We'll let you know when we find the time. Now your assignments are on your desk. Lois, you're on the follow up on the kids who disappeared a couple weeks ago, how are they doing now, have any of the orphans been adopted since? The executive's kids get a warm welcome? That sort of thing."  
"Right, Perry, I'll get right on that." Lois nodded before heading back to her desk.

"Now for you," Perry turned to Clark, "Now that the whole John Doe/Tempus debacle is over, the president is running for re-election again, I've set up an interview with his campaign manager this afternoon. See if the president is going to change his tactics this time around, what are his plans, see where I'm going with this?"

"I think so, Chief," Clark nodded, heading back to his desk, leaving Perry standing in his office looking between his star reporters, the look of a proud father spreading over his face.

"I got those prints you wanted," Jimmy burst in, distracting Perry from the happy thoughts that had been flowing through his mind moments before. "What's up with you? Date night number three with Alice go good?"

"No, I mean yes it did," The older man stammered, "Dinner was great, I've known the woman for nearly 40 years and she still can make me feel like a gawky teenager who finally scored the attention of the homecoming queen. But that wasn't what I was thinking about."

"What's up, Chief?" Jimmy followed the older man's gaze to where Lois and Clark were now hunched over Lois' desk discussing something animatedly.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Jimmy." Perry assured him, "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Get those prints and this article down to copy tell them that you have their front page story."

"Sure thing, Chief," The 20-something nodded and headed toward the elevators to head downstairs, nearly knocking a curious looking older man over I his rush. "Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright, young man." The shorter man assured him, cleaning his spectacles with a handkerchief before replacing them over his eyes. "Could you point me in the direction of Lois and Clark."

"Sure, they're over there at Lois' desk," Jimmy pointed toward where the couple was engaged in a quiet conversation, the joyful look on their faces lit up the room as Clark gazed lovingly down at his bride from his perch on the side of Lois' desk as he faced her.

"Much obliged," The older man tipped his hat.

"Yeah, no problem." Jimmy nodded before heading into the open elevator.


	4. Chapter 3

With all the insanity of the news room, no one seemed to notice the curious little man approaching their star duo, "Hello there," He greeted them.

"Mr. Wells?" Lois looked up, immediately recognizing him, "What are you doing here? Not another curse?"

"Oh no, my dear, quite the opposite, actually." He smiled up at them, "However, I must request you come with me regarding a rather delicate matter. I assure you that I will return you to a few moments from now."

"Sure, we can spare a few moments." Clark agreed, standing and helping Lois on with her coat before following H.G. Wells toward the elevator and down to the street.

The trio walked a short distance before ducking into a blind alley where the time machine was hidden. Clark and Mr. Wells took two seats and Lois sat in Clarks lap as Mr. Wells set the machine's dials to the interdimensional jump point. Moments later they felt the pull of the space/time vortex as the craft shifted its way through time to bring them to their destination. They soon arrived in present day Metropolis, but not their Metropolis, this was the one where the Other Clark lived.

The trio made their way from where the craft had arrived in a forested area of the park to where the Other Clark was now seated at a picnic table waiting for them. There was a beautiful dark haired woman and tall man with him, talking quietly as the time travelers approached.

"Good afternoon Mr. Kent, Lady Zara, General Ching; I have brought them, as requested." The older man spoke.

"Thank you for coming," Lady Zara nodded in her usual no nonsense way as the time travelers took their seats opposite their counterparts, "There is a matter of great importance that we must attend to."

"What's wrong?" Lois asked.

"Nothing is particularly wrong," Lady Zara shrugged, "But we have found ourselves in a rather delicate situation."

"'Delicate situation'" Clark questioned, raising his eye brows skeptically.

"Well you know how in your dimension, you were unable to marry Lady Zara because of Lois?" The Other Clark spoke up, Lois and Clark nodded, "Well here, despite our best efforts, I never found my Lois so I had no justifiable reason to not follow through with the whole ceremony."

"Including…" Clark motioned toward Zara.

"Yes, we consummated the union," Lady Zara confirmed, "However, after deterring Zod from overthrowing Metropolis and the rest of Earth, we decided to annul the union."

"Because you and Ching want to be together," Lois supplied.

"Precisely," Zara nodded and looked up at Ching who stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders reassuringly. "There was just one small problem." Lady Zara stood, revealing her very pregnant belly, "You see, being married to Ching, I am unable to keep the child. Although Kal-El and I were technically wed when the child was conceived, it is not allowed to keep another man's child when I'm married to another, aside from being a widow."

"What does that have to do with us?" Lois asked.

"In my dimension, I am a single man," The Other Clark shrugged, "Between the Planet and my work as Superman, I am not equipped to raise the child on my own, so I was thinking…"

"That we would raise her for you, since she is, technically biologically related to me." Clark put the pieces together.

"Just a wild guess here," Lois looked between the men and woman with her, "You plan to give birth to the child, give her to Mr. Wells here, who will then bring her to us. Do I have that about right?"

"Yes that was the basic plan," Zara informed her, "You and Clark have a stable home, and Mr. Wells here has assured us that, due to his various travels throughout your time, you are wonderful parents. Also that you are having some temporary difficulties in conceiving a child; I see no reason why this can't be an amenable solution to the predicament we seem to find ourselves in."

"Her?" Ching asked, looking between Zara and the Other Clark. "You are bearing a daughter?"

"Have I already left the child with you?" Mr. Wells looked toward Lois and Clark.

"Yes, a little girl," Lois smiled fondly at her husband who squeezed her hand gently, "We named her Lar-El, but her birth certificate will read Laurel since it is the closest Earth name to it."

"After my mother," The Other Clark smiled appreciatively. "She would have loved that."

"So you are agreeable to the arrangement?" Zara looked between the married couple.

"We would be happy to adopt your child, Zara." Lois assured her, "And if you ever want to or are able to visit, you are welcome in our home, all of you."

"Thank you, but I think it would be best if we all went our separate ways after Lar-El comes to you." Zara gave Lois a sad smile, "I don't know if I would be able to leave her again if I were to visit."

"We understand," Clark nodded, "Thank you, I know this wasn't an easy decision for any of you."

"Just promise us you will love her." The Other Clark looked at the pair, "If I had my Lois I know I could raise her myself, but knowing she is with you gives me peace in the decision."

"We do, and will love her," Clark assured them. "We should probably be getting back now, it may be still in the future for us, but Lar-el just came to us last night and we're eager to get back to her."

"Where is she now?" Zara asked.

"She is in the care of her grandparents," Lois chuckled, "I'm sure Martha is having the time of her life, my mother is probably still adjusting to the idea that someone is going to be calling her 'Grandma.'"

"So Jonathan and Martha are still…" The Other Clark asked wistfully.

"Still around and overjoyed to be grandparents," Clark grinned, "I wouldn't be surprised if Dad was at our place trying to piece together a dresser or something right now."

"At least until Mom got home and finished it for him," The Other Clark finished, "I remember Dad was good with fixing engines and farming stuff, but when it came to building or fixing anything in or around the house, Mom was the woman to beat."

"Still is." Clark gave him a proud smile as the group stood.

Soon they were saying goodbye and shaking hands, Mr. Wells promised to return in another month's time for the delivery of the child before leading Lois and Clark back to the travel craft. The trio once again took their seats, feeling the pull of the continuum on them once more before arriving back in the same back alley that they had departed from.

"This is where we part ways, it was lovely seeing you again; I shall return soon." The older man tipped his hat to them. "Oh and Miss Lane, you should have your father take another look at those records you gave him. I know that device of his partner's wiped his memory of why he was looking at it, but before that he was possibly on to something that could help his case."

"I'm not so sure that is the best idea," Lois grimaced, "The last time we told him, it didn't turn out too well."

"Tell them again, both of them," H.G. Wells encouraged her, "I promise it will make your relationships better, you can share the burden and your mother won't feel left out. Not only that, but it will help to guide your father back into legitimate medicine once more."

Lois sent a questioning look to her husband who just shrugged and said that it couldn't hurt. "Besides, how else are we going to be able to explain it when the kids start flying and seeing through walls?"

"I guess it is about time," Lois acquiesced, "We'll tell them when we get home. Thank you, Mr. Wells, we should be going."

"Farewell my friends." The older man smiled fondly at them before setting the dials on his contraption and fading away through the vortex once more.

The pair quietly made their way back to the office, taking a detour through a nearby park so they could have time to absorb everything that had occurred over the past few days. Lois was feeling so many emotions, happiness, fear, excitement, joy, concern, that she felt she might float away, the only thing holding her Earthbound was the strong but gentle hand of her husband clasped around her own. Clark was likewise caught in his own thought world, he was full of pride and love for his wife who had adapted so easily in the past fifteen hours to motherhood, the love she showed Laurel made him look forward to the day they could add to their family of three, although he knew that day would likely be long coming.

"What are you thinking?" Clark asked gently, pulling Lois down to sit next to him on a nearby bench.

"How strange and wonderful our lives are," Lois smiled gently up at him, "How much I love you and our growing family."

"I feel the same way," Clark placed a small kiss on her lips, "I know it's a little premature, but do you think you might want to have more kids down the road?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Lois shrugged, "Let's see how things with Laurel goes, besides it couldn't hurt for Daddy to take another look at our files. It could take him years to develop a treatment that would allow us to bear a child. Even if we decide not to have more, that same treatment could work decades from now, Laurel may want to get married and have kids someday, the research that Dad does for us could benefit her as well."

"True," Clark nodded, "So we ask him to start up his research again?"

"I think we should," Lois nodded, laying her head on Clark's shoulder. She sat quiet for a few moments before speaking again, "Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we should tell Dr. Kline?" Lois asked softly, "I mean for all intents and purposes, he is your doctor, and when he was working on your labs before he only had half the information."

"I've been thinking about that too," Clark nodded, "I mean there are positives and negatives to going either way, but I think it's about time. Eventually Laurel will need a doctor, and it would seem strange to one day bring a Kryptonian child to him with no explanation as to where she came from."

"So we're agreed, we tell my parents and Dr. Kline?" Lois asked.

Clark nodded and pulled her close, "I love you."

"I love you too." She kissed him softly, "We should be getting back to work, Perry is probably missing us by now."

"You're probably right," Clark sighed, standing and offer her a hand up. "What say you, Mrs. Kent, shall we go be good providers for our daughter."

"After you, Mr. Kent," Lois chuckled, placing her hand in her husband's as they made their way across the square to the Planet.


	5. Chapter 4

The rest of the day passed as any other in the newsroom, chaotic but not all altogether unfamiliar. News of Lois and Clarks newest addition soon spread after Perry "accidentally" spilled the beans to Jimmy and Cat. The pair spent the rest of their afternoon fielding congratulations and finishing their assigned stories so that they could start their weekend. Time passed slowly but the same time it seemed as though no time had passed by the time the clock hit 5:30 and the newlyweds could head home.

"Is anybody home?" Clark called out as they entered the town house. He quickly divested himself of his coat and assisted Lois in removing hers once she sat her bag down on the attached bench of the coat tree.

"We're up here!" Came the disembodied voice of his mother followed by the sound of four sets of feet descending the stairs. Soon Martha, with Laurel balanced on her shoulder, appeared with Ellen, Jonathan, and Sam close on her heels. "We were unpacking her things; you would not believe the amount of adorable clothing we found for her."

"I hope you didn't spend too much," Clark smirked.

"What's the use of being a grandmother if I'm not allowed to spoil her and any other little ones that may come along?" Martha chuckled.

A look passed between the younger couple as they debated contradicting her but soon the impulse passed, both knowing there was nothing they could say to deter her from doing just that.

"I suppose you want to hold her," Martha smiled warmly at her son and daughter-in-law.

"If she's not sleeping," Clark offered, craning his neck to see if the girl's brown eyes were open.

"She just woke up from her nap so she should be up for a little bit." Martha handed her into her father's waiting arms, smiling fondly at him, "You are so good at that, you remind me a little of your father, he took just as quickly to fatherhood."

"Thanks, Mom," Clark nodded as he walked over to the living room as the rest of his family followed, Lois at his side talking softly to the infant he carried. "Would you guys mind taking a seat, there's something we need to discuss with you."

"Sure, Son," Jonathan nodded, taking a seat in one of the chairs next to his wife as Sam and Ellen took seats on the couch and Lois and Clark took seats on the love seat. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, but there is something we want to take care of before Sam and Ellen head out." Clark gave them a reassuring look. "As you all know, Lois and I decided a few months ago to start trying to start a family and were having some difficulty getting pregnant. There a doctor who has been treating me for a while now, and we asked him to run some tests to see if there was something medically that could be done to help us conceive."

"You're concerned about infertility." Sam stated more than asked.

"Yes we were, the results came back that there was nothing to be done," Clark sighed gently stroking his daughter's cheek with the back of his finger, "However, he didn't have all the information."

"Like what?" Ellen asked, a puzzled look to her face.

"Who I was trying to conceive with." Clark gave a wry chuckle.

"How can that be? Doesn't everyone know who you're married do?" Ellen challenged, "I mean your wedding was one of the biggest stories when it happened."

"Which brings us to the reason we asked you to sit down," Lois explained, "Remember how when the bummer-be-gone machine malfunctioned when Fathead put it on? Its power wiped some memory from all of you, mostly bad memories, but also some aspects of the previous 48 hours."

"There's something about me that you, Sam, and you, Ellen, don't know about me." Clark handed Laurel to Lois as he stood, "I think it's about time you did, again."

"Well isn't this just a bit melodramatic," Ellen rolled her eyes.

"Mother, please, this is kind of a big deal." Lois gently scolded her mother. "Go ahead, Hun."

"Sam a few days ago, I gave you my medical files along with Lois files." Clark started, "You agreed to look over the test results to see if there might have been something that was missed. I also told you the information that my doctor was lacking."

Clark took a deep breath and before the eyes of his parents and Lois', he spun into his Superman uniform. Sam and Ellen looked at him dumbfounded before he spun back into his every day clothes. Sam's look of puzzled bewilderment cleared first as understanding dawned in his eyes.

"You know, it all makes sense now," Sam spoke calmly, nodding as he went, "The sudden disappearing and reappearing at random, the fact that Tommy Garrison's hand malfunctioned after hitting you, you are quite literally the man of steel."

"Which is why I'd asked you to help us out," Clark explained, "According to Dr. Kline, who has been treating me as Superman, my biology is not compatible enough with Lois' to be able to conceive a child."

"You need me to give you a second opinion," Sam nodded.

"If you wouldn't mind giving the files a once over, maybe running a few tests." Clark shrugged, "I trust Dr. Kline implicitly, but since he didn't know that Lois was the woman I was hoping to conceive with, he was missing a rather crucial piece to the puzzle."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind checking what Bernie came up with." Sam nodded.

"We were actually hoping to have you and Dr. Kline work together, assuming you are able to find a way to make it work for us." Lois added, "You know the whole two heads are better than one thing. We're in no hurry, we have Laurel now, but it would be nice to know if there's a way, if not for us then for Laurel when she's old enough to get married and start a family of her own."

"I'd be glad to," Sam assured them with a fatherly smile to the pair.

"You mean this whole time?" Ellen finally spoke, "You have been Superman?"

"Now she speaks," Lois chuckled under her breath, soft enough that only Clark could hear her as he tried to suppress a smirk.

"And you knew?" Ellen accused Lois.

"Yes mother, I've known for a while now." Lois nodded, "I found out before he proposed."

"And you?" Ellen turned to Jonathan and Martha, "You knew as well?"

"I made his costume," Martha shrugged.

"It would have been hard to not know after painting over the burn marks on the side of the barn when he was still mastering his laser vision." Jonathan chuckled.

"Why did no one tell me?" Ellen demanded.

"We just did, Mother," Lois pointed out, "We've been debating it for a while now, but hesitated because knowing could potentially put in you in danger."

"I still say you should have told me." Ellen pouted.

"Well you know now, Mother." Lois sighed, "At least we told you before Laurel started flying."

"Why would Laurel start flying?" Sam asked.

"That's another thing we need to tell you," Clark spoke up, "Laurel is actually the daughter of a distant relation to me. She was born of my birth father's side of the family and is therefore Kryptonian."

"Do you think she'll have powers like you?" Sam probed.

"Very likely, but they won't start to develop until she's closer to puberty if she's anything like me," Clark shrugged, "It happened gradually for me, first my strength,"

"Big help around the farm from a young age with that," Jonathan added.

"Then my hearing and x-ray vision," Clark continued.

"Thank God those came over summer vacation for him," Martha chuckled, "Not that he was like that, but can you imagine the temptation a 14-year-old boy would have walking past the girls' locker room on his way to gym class when he was still trying to master x-ray vision?"

"Then when I was about 16 or so, my laser vision presented itself." Clark chuckled, "Thank God that was one of the rainiest falls we'd had in my life that year, helped me from doing worse damage to Dad's barn. This was followed closely by my speed; thankfully I'd mastered it by the time summer rolled around and I had to start football daily doubles practice, or else I could have done some real damage."

"You had a few moments where you nearly went too fast as a receiver," Jonathan reminded him.

"I learned to be more careful," Clark reminded his father, "Last to present itself was flying which showed up a little before my 18th birthday, it was also one of the easiest to learn to control, but that could also be because I'd already learned to master my other abilities so it was easier to learn to control that one."

"Maybe, I found that flying was the easiest to master as well." Lois confirmed, "Once you master take-off and landing, the rest is pretty simple."

"How would you know that?" Sam asked.

"I have some experience with using his powers," Lois chuckled, "Remember a year or so ago when Ultra Woman was helping out Superman for a while?"

"You mean you…" Ellen started.

"Yep, that was me," Lois shrugged, "You see, a couple of sisters had made a laser out of a chunk of Red Kryptonite, which has been known for having some rather strange effects on Clark, from affecting his mood, to robbing him of his powers, to God only knows what else. Well this time when they shot him, he got between them and me since I was so close to him, he was concerned that they might have been shooting at me."

"The laser shot though me and transferred my powers to Lois until we were able to reverse the effects." Clark piped up, "I had no powers so Lois as Ultra Woman took my place saving folks while I worked with Dr. Kline to reverse the effects."

"Interesting," Sam mused, filing the information away in his head as he stood and helped Ellen to her feet. "Well we have a lot to process for tonight, we should probably be headed home. Lois, Clark, I have your files in my office at home, I'll look them over and see if I can find anything that might be helpful."

"Thank you, Daddy," Lois stood along with Clark and, balancing Laurel on her shoulder, hugged her parents. "Call us if you find something out yet."

"Will do," Sam nodded, "Although, for the time being, you may want to hold off on telling Bernie, at least until I know a little more. No point in getting his hopes up to solve yet another Superman medical mystery when there's a chance that there may not be much we can do."

"We understand, thanks Sam for being willing to help us out with this." Clark shook the man's hand. "It was nice seeing you again, Ellen."

"At least I wasn't the last to know," Ellen shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance, "You sure there aren't more secrets?"

"We're sure," Lois assured as Clark opened the door to the foyer for the Lanes to head out. "We'll see you later."

A few moments later the sound of Sam's sedan starting up and driving off was heard as he and Ellen headed home. Lois and Clark made their way back into the living room, joining the elder Kents.

"That was a very brave thing you did," Martha sighed.

"Yeah, but it was the right thing to do," Clark admitted, "They really needed to know everything before Laurel started presenting her abilities."

"Yeah but you have at least a good twelve years before you even would have to worry about that," Jonathan pointed out.

"True, but I have a feeling not knowing exactly who he was dealing with is why Dr. Kline wasn't able to find a way to help up out." Clark shrugged, "Besides, I think they both suspected, even if was on an unconscious level that there was something strange about me."

"Well since that's taken care of, Clark why don't you and your father go show Lois the nursery." Martha suggested.

"Dinner won't take long to prepare," Clark assured her, "Why don't we all take a look then Dad and I can tackle dinner."

The four adults climbed the stairs, stopping one door down from the master suite at the room that had previously been one of the guest rooms. As Martha opened the door, Lois and Clark walked in, slowly taking in the room. The walls had been painted in a soft shade of lilac with white trim on the baseboards and molding. A large white crib sat in one corner, along the back wall sat a dresser which was also painted white. Lois opened the drawers finding adorable outfits in increasingly larger sizes, various shirts, skirts, pants, pajamas along with socks lined the drawers. Lois handed Laurel to Clark as she pulled out a white t-shirt that bore the Superman symbol which read 'Daddy's my Superman.' "Cute," She smiled up at her husband.

"Mom, was this your doing?" Clark chuckled, shifting Laurel into a football carry in his right arm with her little head resting on his bicep. Martha just chuckled and gave a guilty shrug.

Lois crossed to the closet to reveal a few dresses and jackets hanging, each item cuter than the last. On a shelf sat rows of little shoes and boots.

"She probably won't need a lot of these things for a while, but I figured it couldn't hurt to be prepared." Martha explained as she walked up behind Lois who simply nodded her understanding as she continued her perusal of the room taking in the knit hammock in the corner full of stuffed animals and the white rocker that had 'Laurel' painted along the headpiece in lilac script. The bassinette would stay in Lois and Clark's room for the time being until Laurel was able to sleep on her own.

"It looks amazing," Lois sighed, "Thank you so much."

"It was nothing," Martha assured her, now I don't know if you noticed the bins in the other side of the closet, but you'll find extra diapers, wipes, as well as a couple diaper bags." She explained.

"Thanks, Mom." Clark gave her a hug before handing Laurel over to his wife, "I'd better head down and start dinner."

"Which means we should probably start heading down too, it'll only be a few seconds once he gets to the kitchen before the roast is done." Lois added, following Clark out the door.

"You really did a bang-up job," Jonathan smiled at his wife affectionately, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you Jonathan," Martha nodded, "It was actually a lot of fun, granted I would have preferred being able to craft the crib and rocker myself, I did just buy that new lathe after all, maybe next time."

"Yes, next time, my creative artiste." He chuckled, kissing her on the head as they heard their son calling that dinner was ready as they headed down to join their ever growing family.


	6. Chapter 5

The morning of Laurel's adoption broke to overcast skies and a persistent drizzle. Lois frowned as she looked out the window of her daughter's room as she changed the child's diaper. Clark soon strode in, looking the picture of male perfection in his grey slacks and maroon shirt as he tightened his charcoal tie around his neck. "Good morning, how are my girls?"

"Well someone was hoping for a little Daddy time while Mama gets dressed," Lois smiled, handing he girl to her husband before sending a sidelong glance to the window. "I really hope the weather doesn't set the tone for the day." She sighed.

"Think positive, Lois." Clark chimed snuggling his daughter to his chest.

"You're positive enough for the both of us." Lois responded wryly, shuffling out the door to dress before calling over her shoulder, "She's already fed and changed, could you please get her dressed? I hung her outfit on the side of the crib."

"No problem," Clark called back as he strode across the room to where the pale blue blouse and black jumper lay over the safety gate of the crib. "At least she didn't choose anything too complicated," He chuckled as he slid the sleeper off his still drowsy daughter. He thanked his lucky stars she was still half asleep, he'd tried to dress her a few days before while she was wide awake and it was like trying to dress a hyperactive octopus. Both Clark and Lois found it was easiest to dress the girl when she was in her post-bottle haze.

He sat Laurel up slightly as he guided the blouse over the girl's head before sticking a few fingers through each arm hole as he slid first one of her arms and then the other through the long sleeves. Once he was sure the small shirt lay straight on his daughter he slid the jumper over her head and made sure the straps weren't twisted. With one hand on his daughter's stomach, he pulled open the drawer he knew her socks were in and pulled out a pair of knit tights that matched the blouse before shimming the small hose up and over each leg and over Laurel's diapered bottom as she began to squirm. "Do you need shoes?" He whispered the quickly waking girl as he picked her up and held her up so he could gaze into her eyes. "I know you won't be walking anytime soon, but I think shoes would be good, what do you think?"

"I think you're a big old softie, Daddy," Lois teased her husband from where she leaned against the door frame watching her husband interact with their daughter. She walked slowly toward them, allowing her husband to get a good look at the khaki skirt and black blouse she wore that skimmed along her curves enough to show off her shape in the way she knew drove him nuts. "But I agree, every girl needs a good pair of shoes to complete an outfit, don't you agree Baby?" She kissed her daughter's cheek before kissing her husband deeply enough to make up for the missed good morning kiss a few minutes earlier.

"Personally I think you're a little overdressed." Clark teased, resting his daughter against one shoulder as he ran his finger along the neckline of his wife's blouse where it dipped low enough to give a teasing glimpse of her cleavage.

"Behave yourself, Mister Kent, we have to get down the courthouse soon." Lois playfully slapped his hand away. "Besides you can see what you're looking for later." She smiled cheekily as she sashayed to the closet and pulled out a pair of black patent leather Mary-janes from the shelf before sliding and fastening each to the child's feet.

"Or I can take a peak now," Clark teased, sliding his glasses down his nose with a smirk on his face.

"Oh no you don't," Lois laughed, gently sliding his glasses back up his nose where they belonged. "Come naptime you won't need the x-ray vision." She grinned, "I'm going to go grab my jacket and we'll be out the door in a minute."

"Tease," Clark chuckled, following her out the door

"You love me," She reminded him, before ducking into the bedroom.

A few minutes later Lois came gliding down the stairs, fastening the buttons on her suit blazer. Clark had already gotten Laurel's sweater on her and fastened her into her car seat and was pulling on the matching sport coat that finished off his suit. "Ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Lois sighed, nerves starting to cause the butterflies in her stomach to start dancing. She grabbed her purse and a large umbrella as they headed into foyer.

Clark handed the car seat to Lois, sliding the shade up and securing a blanket over the girl to shield her further from the rain that was now falling heavier than it had been just a half hour before. He took the umbrella from his wife's hand and opened it to protect them from the rain as he opened the door of the jeep and waited for her to secure the car seat in the base behind her seat. Once the back door was closed, Clark opened the passenger side door for Lois while she took her seat. As soon as she was settled, he closed the door and skirted the front of the vehicle before sliding into the driver's side while simultaneously closing the umbrella.

"Well here goes nothing," He chuckled nervously, turning the ignition and shifting the car into drive before pulling out to make the short drive to the Metropolis County Courthouse.

"You never realize how much you appreciate underground parking until you have day like this," Lois sighed as Clark pulled into an empty parking space near the elevators that would lead up to the courthouse. Recognizing his wife's remark as a stalling tactic, he quickly squeezed her hand reassuringly before silently climbing from the car and retrieving his daughter's carrier from its base.

"Honey, I know you're nervous," His voice floated over her like soft velvet as he took her hand in his free one, "But everything is going to be fine."

"How can it be fine? I don't feel fine, I won't be fine until she's officially and irreversibly fine," Lois rambled, pressing the elevator call button.

"That's fine," Clark smirked, "Just remember to breathe while we're meeting with the judge, last thing we need is you passing out mid-verdict."

"How can you be so calm?" She challenged.

"I have faith that Laurel was always meant to be ours, and not just because Zara and the other Clark sent her to us," He replied, lifting their joined hands up to place a kiss on the back of his wife's hand, "Everything will work out the way it's supposed to. Can you at least believe that?"

"I suppose," Lois sighed as the elevator doors slid apart. The family quietly stepped into the car as Lois, once again being the one with a free hand, pressed the button for the floor which housed the family courts. "I mean if you can't believe Superman, who can you believe?" She gave him a knowing smile.

"There you are," Came the sound of Martha Kent's voice as the elevator opened revealing the fourth floor lobby, "We were wondering what was taking you so long."

"Again, you could have stayed at the house and ridden with us, Mom." Clark reminded her.

"I know but this time should be spent with family." Martha reminded him, placing a soothing hand to his cheek as she used to do when he fretted as a small child.

"You are family." He protested.

"You know what she means; You, Lois, and Laurel should be bonding right now, not worrying about having house guests." Jonathan's gruff voice joined in.

"I'm glad you're here," Lois cut in, trying to refocus the group. "It's nice that it's not just Clark and I here."

"Of course," Martha smiled warmly as the family lawyer that Perry had recommended approached them.

"Good morning Mister and Missus Kent… and Mister and Missus Kent," He shook their hands, "Are we excited to make the adoption official?"

"More than you could ever know," Lois chuckled nervously.

"You're probably right," He agreed, "Although someday if I find someone, I may very well be in the same position."

"We wish you luck in that," Martha nodded.

"Anyway, if you'll follow me, we'll get this little one adopted." He nodded and headed down the hall.

The small family followed him down the corridor to a door that was marked 'Judges chambers' which lead to a small hallway lined with large oak doors, each bearing the name of a different justice before stopping at a door marked 'Hon. W.L. Smith.' The lawyer brushed off his jacket and straightened his tie before quickly rapping on the portal.

"Come in," A deep southern voice responded. The older gentleman's pale blue eyes were lined with laugh lines and bore a gregarious and welcoming smile on his lips. He was dressed in a fine grey suit and black cowboy boots, a matching Stetson hung on the nearby coat rack. He quickly stood and rounded his desk, shaking the hands of the group who had just entered the spacious office, all of whom had perplexed looks on their faces. He soon led them to a round table where a stack of documents lay waiting, and indicated they should sit.

"He looks just like…" Lois whispered to her husband.

"Shhh." He responded before turning to the judge who had begun speaking.

"Good morning; my name is Judge Smith, but you can call me Walt if you'd like." The southern gentleman started, "I bet you're wondering what a good ol' boy from Memphis is doing here in the big city. You see, my mama couldn't take care of me, she was pretty young when she got pregnant with me and my twin brother and had to give us up. I was adopted by a good southern family who brought me up right. I never was able to figure out what happened to my brother…" Lois and Clark shared a knowing look as the judge continued, "But I hope he went to a good home too. Because of what had happened to me, I went into family law and I must have been good and what I do because a while back I got an offer to move here and be sworn in as a judge. I guess you could say I'm uniquely qualified to be here.

"I know you didn't come here for my life story," Walt chuckled, "Let get down to what we came here for. I have here signed affidavits from the birth parents relinquishing parental rights, I just need the adoptive parents to sign where marked. Blue tabs are for you, Dad, and the red are for Mom." He slid the forms toward them, pointing to each signature and date line. "Alright, I suppose you're here to serve as witnesses?" He turned toward the older couple who nodded their confirmation before signing the indicated lines as well. Looking over the forms to make sure that everything was as it should be, he handed Lois and Clark their copy along with a duplicate to the lawyer, and retaining a couple copies for himself and the county clerk's office. "Well, congratulations Mister and Missus Kent, you are officially parents to one Laurel Lane Kent. Her new birth certificate will be coming to you within the next couple weeks."

"Thank you Chie, er I mean Your Honor," Clark stood, shaking the man's hand.

"Yes thank you for your time," Lois beamed.

"Not a problem, Honey," The older man smiled gently, a sense of familiarity washed over Lois as he patted her hand. "I'm glad I could help you out."

The old judge led the group towards the door as he shook the hands of the elder Kents and the Lawyer before opening the door and letting them out. As soon as the group got into the hall, Lois let out a breath.

"Was it just me or did he look just like…"

"Perry," Clark confirmed.

"You don't think…"

"It's possible, we don't know much about Perry's life before he came to the Planet as a copy boy," He reminded her. "It would be pretty interesting if it were true."

"Do you think we should tell him that he might have a doppelganger in the courthouse?" Lois asked.

"Maybe," Clark shrugged, "But right now all I'm planning to do is get my girls home." He wrapped his arm around Lois as the other held the carrier containing their sleeping daughter before turning toward his parents, "Thanks for coming with us."

"Of course," Martha smiled as Jonathan nodded his agreement, "Would you like to join us for a celebratory dinner tonight say around five?"

The Kents stood in the lobby discussing their dinner plans before going their separate ways. Martha and Jonathan to their hotel and Lois, Clark, and Laurel to their home.


	7. Chapter 6

Thankfully the relentless downpour had died down to a soft patter by the time the Kents arrived back at their townhome. Laurel had fallen asleep on the ride home and her weary parents were looking forward to some alone time while the child dozed. Lois and Clark shared a knowing smile before collecting their daughter, the diaper bag, and Lois' briefcase where Laurel's official adoption papers were temporarily stored until Clark could fly them to the fire safe at his parent's house where they kept all their important documents.

"I'm so glad it's over and done with," Lois sighed as she shouldered the bags and opened the door for her husband who held the carrier with their sleeping child in his arms.

"Me too," Clark kissed her gently as he passed her and entered the foyer, "It's a relief that she's finally, officially ours. I can't wait to get inside so we can celebrate."

"What did you have in mind?" Lois gave him a coy smile as she lightly ran her hand up his arm and down his back.

"Why don't you head up to our room," Clark leaned closer to her, "I'll put the baby down and faster than a speeding bullet, you'll know what I have in mind."

"So long as getting upstairs is the only thing you plan to do at super speed." Lois whispered, her voice like velvet to her husband's ears as she turned the lock on the door to the town house.

The moment the pair entered their living room, the lights turned on, revealing all their friends and family congratulating them. A banner hung over the archway that lead to the dining room that read 'Happy Adoption Day, Laurel!' Lois and Clark shared a chuckle, silently agreeing that they should have seen it coming. Especially since Perry stood at the front of the pack with his wife and Jimmy flanking him. The Elder Kents stood next to Jimmy to the right and Sam and Ellen were to the left of Alice.

"So much for that nap," Clark sighed under his breath.

"No kidding," Lois rolled her eyes before turning to their friends, "Thank you all for this, but could you keep it down for a little bit, Laurel fell asleep and we don't want to wake her."

Their friends and family looked appropriately contrite as Lois deposited her bags on the coat tree and Clark went upstairs to put Laurel in her crib for a nap. "Sorry about that, Honey," Perry have her an apologetic half-smile, "We figured since you never had a baby shower, you might appreciate something to mark your new arrival as it were. Besides we learned after the last time to not involve either of you in the planning or else the party would never happen."

"We appreciate that Perry," Lois assured him with an affectionate pat on his forearm, "Clark will be down in a minute, why don't you all make yourselves comfortable?"

The group made no delay in doing just that, settling in chairs with paper plates loaded up with food that was laid out on every flat surface not already claimed by a wrapped package. Lois was just settling on the love seat with a small plate of finger sandwiches and veggies in one hand and a plate piled high with spare ribs, potato salad, deviled eggs, and a healthy sampling of the provided deserts in the other, when Clark bounded down the stairs and spotted her. He quickly made his way into the kitchen to grab drinks for them before joining his wife. "You take such good care of me," He applauded her.

"How you can eat like that and not have a heart attack is beyond me," Lois teased him. "It's like you have an iron stomach."

"Steel," Clark smirked, "And it's not the only part of me that's made of steel, and I'll prove it later."

"Keep it in your tights," she admonished him playfully under her breath.

Over the course of the afternoon, gifts were opened and stories were told. Before long, a muffled cry came from the nursery and Lois went up to feed, diaper, and change their daughter before bringing the guest of honor down to her party. As Laurel was passed around from grandparents to honorary aunts and uncles, the parents of the group shared some advice on childrearing. Martha and Jonathan even threw in some double sided remarks about securing furniture and appliances to protect from little hands.

Before long, their friends trickled out, one by one, leaving just the Lanes and the three generations of Kents who all sat in satisfied silence. Once he was sure the last guest was long gone, Sam cleared his throat. "Now that they're all gone, I thought this might be a good time to let you know, I think I may have cracked the code on your difficulties with conceiving."

"You have?" Lois and Clark looked to the older man, intrigued.

"I'll have to run some more tests to be sure," Sam hedged, "But Lois, I found something strange when comparing your current records with ones from your past. You see, although you may not have kept Clark's powers when they were restored to him last year, some residual biological traits that I can only assume are Kryptonian remained. My theory is that while, as Bernard found, a normal Earth woman couldn't conceive and bear a child with a Kryptonian man, because you have these traits now within you, it may be possible to find a treatment for one or both of you that could help you in achieving pregnancy."

"That's wonderful news," Martha gushed, "How soon do you think you'd be able to figure it out?"

"Mom," Clark scolded lightly.

"Martha, we only just got Laurel, we're in no hurry." Lois smiled at the older woman's enthusiasm, "Although I think that you should look into it, Dad, so that when we are ready to expand our family once again we will be able to have this as an option."

"Of course, Sweetheart," Sam nodded, an affectionate smile on his lips. "It may be time to get Bernie in on this."

"I agree, it's time he knew," Clark stood and walked to the cordless extension before returning to the couch, dialing the number for Starr Labs. "Dr. Klein? It's Clark Kent… I'm doing quite well… I was hoping you might come over for a bit, there's something I wish to discuss with you… I appreciate it, you have my home address? …Good, we'll see you then."

"What did he say?" Lois asked.

"He'll be here in a little bit; he just has to drop his lady friend off at her condo." Clark chuckled.

"He always was the Lothario of the Lab," Sam shook his head with a wry laugh.

It was just after seven when the doorbell rang, Lois was upstairs putting Laurel to bed, leaving Clark to answer the door. "Dr. Klein, so glad you could come."

"Of course," The older doctor nodded as he made his way into the living room, stopping short when he saw Sam sitting on the couch next to Ellen. "Sam? I haven't seen you in years!"

"How you doing Bernie?" Sam smiled, shaking the man's hand firmly, "My little girl says that you have been a great help to her and Clark over the past few years. I appreciate that."

"Not a problem," Dr. Klein feigned humility, "Now what was so important you had to drag me out of the lab?"

"We should probably wait for Lois." Clark gestured for them all to take seats while Martha came in with a tray of lemonade and some cookies left over from the party.

"No need to wait, I'm right here," Lois called out, coming down the stairs and crossing to shake hands with Dr. Klein who had risen upon her entrance to the room. "Dr. Klein I'm glad you could make it."

"Could someone please tell me what I'm doing here?" Dr. Klein requested, looking between the 6 other adults in the room.

"Dr. Klein," Clark started, "Have you ever noticed how whenever you are dealing with Superman it's Lois who comes to follow up yet you have to call me with the results of any tests you run?"

"I have, and I've been meaning to ask you about that," Dr. Klein leaned forward, "I always found that to be a bit strange but I chalked it up to you being his emergency contact but being squeamish of needles or something."

"Nothing like that," Clark shook his head, "The truth of the matter is, the reason you never have seen Superman and I in the same place is that we are the same person."

"This is a joke, right?" Dr. Klein looked around, trying to suss out the person who thought up the ruse, only to be met with straight faces. "This _is_ a joke, some elaborate ruse to pull on old Bernard?"

"I'm afraid not," Lois shook her head before giving her husband a look, "You might as well show him."

Clark silently nodded before standing and walking into the den only to reappear a moment later in his Superman uniform. He then ducked back in and returned in his regular clothes, "Now do you believe me?"

"So the tests I was running was so that you and Lois could…" He gestured between the two reporters to imply his meaning.

"Yes, I'm married to Superman," Lois confirmed, "And we were wanting to have a baby, we still do someday. I'm sure you've already heard that we adopted a little girl recently."

"I read about it the other day, congratulations," He nodded, "But as I already told your husband, his genetics and yours are not compatible to create a viable zygote, I'm sorry."

"That is not entirely true," Sam spoke up, "I double checked your report, and while I agree that a normal human woman would not be able to conceive and bear a child with a Kryptonian man, you were missing half of the information. Lois has some Kryptonian traits due to her being temporarily imbued with Clark's powers, when his abilities were returned, some Kryptonian traits stayed behind."

"You think it could create enough compatibility to achieve conception?" Dr. Klein questioned, awe and excitement in his voice.

"That's my theory, but it won't be easy." Sam continued, "I think we have to come up with some kind of infertility therapy that would allow them to biologically be on the same level, or at least close enough to procreate."

"It's worth a shot," Dr. Klein, "We should probably use my lab though, as it is a high security facility. You know, we just lost a bioengineer to Wayne Technologies, apparently his wife got a job in Gotham City and he went with her. I'm the administrator of the facility, I could hire you on to work in the Biogenetics lab when we aren't working on this."

"That could work," Sam mused, considering the offer.

"Take it Sam, you could be a legitimate scientist again," Ellen encouraged him, "No more working with deranged crackpots."

"Tell you what," Dr. Klein stood, "You take the night to think over my proposal, and I'll think over yours. We can meet for drinks at my lab tomorrow to discuss it."

"Sounds good to me," Sam agreed.

"Dr. Klein, you do know that what we discussed tonight cannot leave this group." Clark reminded him.

"I'm aware, falls under doctor/patient confidentiality anyhow." Klein smiled at the younger couple as he shook their hands, "No matter if we decided to proceed, I wish you luck."

"Thank you Dr. Klein," Lois smiled up at him as she walked him to the door.

"We should probably call it a night too," Sam nodded, grabbing his coat and Ellen's from the coatrack, "Ellen, let's go, I have a lot to think over tonight."

"I'm coming," Ellen waved at him before turning to Lois and Clark, "I hope that you know what you're doing."

"No," Lois shrugged, "But I trust Daddy and Dr. Klein to figure out if it's even possible."

"Okay, not another word from me then," Ellen put up her hands slightly to signal surrender before kissing her daughter's cheek and giving her son in law a pat on his arm. She allowed Sam to assist her on with her coat before following him out the door and to their waiting car.

Jonathan and Martha who had spent the last few minutes cleaning soon followed their counterparts out the door after giving Lois and Clark hugs and kisses. "You kiss that sweet grandbaby of ours." Martha instructed as Jonathan closed the door behind them.

"Well, Mister Kent, we had a very productive day." Lois turned toward her husband.

"I believe that is the understatement of the year, Missus Kent." Clark drew her into his arms, "Wanna go for broke, I believe I promised you a celebration."

"I'll race you," Lois gave him a sly smirk and ran toward the stairs only to be lifted into her husband's arms a split second later as he sped them to their room at super speed before gently setting her on her feet on the soft carpet beside their bed.

With a gentle breath to calm his racing heart, it amazed him how after all this time she could still set his heart a flutter, he lowered his lips to hers. He heard Lois sigh as she opened her mouth, granting him entrance to deepen the kiss. Soon both his hands and hers were loosening buttons, zippers and belts as they divested each other. "Wait," Lois stepped back slightly, her eyes on the ever darkening brown of her husband, "Laurel…" Was all she whispered.

Clark gave her a gentle smile and listened carefully for a few moments, "Sound asleep," He assured her, placing soft kisses on her collar bone as he brushed her bra strap off her shoulder before laying her back on the bed.

The couple awoke a couple hours later to the cries of their daughter. Lois groaned as she rolled out of her husband's embrace, "I'll get her."

"No," Clark grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the bed, "You get some rest, I'll take care of her."

Lois put up no fight and was fast asleep by the time Clark had the sash of his robe tied. Clark chuckled to himself as he shuffled into the nursery where his daughter lay screaming, "Hey there, little bug, what's the matter?" He lifted the girl up who whimpered pitifully, large tears streaming down her pale face, "I bet you're hungry, aren't you?" He asked, carrying the girl down the stairs and quickly making a bottle one-handed, a trick he'd learned over the past few days, before climbing the stairs once more and settling in the rocker to feed the girl.

Laurel drank from the bottle greedily and was soon giving a loud belch as her father gently patted her back. Clark made quick work of changing her diaper when he discovered that she was also wet before returning to the rocker to try and soothe the girl to sleep. Laurel was soon softly snoring on his shoulder as he started to drift as well.

He didn't know how long he was there but he was soon awoken by a bright flash. He discovered sunlight pouring into the room as his eyes fluttered open to see his wife, a gentle smile playing on her lips as she looked at a polaroid exposure. "You two looked so adorable, I couldn't resist." She kissed him good morning and handed him the picture as she lifted Laurel into her arms and quickly got her dressed in a purple long-sleeved shirt with a butterfly and a pair of grey pants, "That is going on my desk when we get to work."

"I'll go get ready," He hefted himself up and stretched out the kinks that had settled in his back before heading to his room to get ready for their first day back to work since the adoption and Laurel's first official day at preschool.


	8. Chapter 7

Four years had passed since Laurel's adoption was approved. The family was now preparing for her first day of preschool which would be starting in another month. As each day passed, Laurel looked more and more like her birth mother, her dark curly hair and appearance were near replicas of her mother with few exceptions; she had her father's warm brown eyes and coloring. The girl had an independent streak a mile wide which everyone contributed to Lois' influence, although her parents knew that Zara probably had something to do with that too. Almost as soon as she could speak she was vocal about her opinions from which toy was best to what clothes to wear.

She was also very curious by nature, and loved the rare opportunities when she was able to accompany one or both of her parents on their interviews, a small notebook and crayon in hand taking 'notes' and asking her own questions during the interviews. Perry, in a show of grandfatherly affection, had even installed a small desk that sat just beside Clark's desk complete with notepads, coloring books, and crayons all meticulously organized by the four-and-a-half-year-old.

"Grandpa Perry!" The little girl cried out as she waltzed into the Editor-in-Chief's office, no matter how many times Lois and Clark tried to persuade her to call him Uncle Perry, she refused saying he was too old to be an uncle and would always be known as 'Grandpa Perry.' "I got a story idea."

"Well, isn't it my favorite junior cub reporter?" The old man chuckled, pushing back from his desk and lifting the girl onto his lap, "What'cha got Laurie Girl?"

"Miss Janice has been acting 'spicious lately." The little girl reported, referring to one of the teachers in her day care. "She's always running out of the room, and the other day I heard her telling Missus Mary that she had to have the day off next week but didn't say why. She always says if Mister Tony is back from ovasees and he was only just back a couple months ago and she was gone a whole three weeks!"

Perry chuckled, putting the information together and realizing what the girl was telling him. He was familiar with the daycare staff from the times Lois and Clark had late assignments and he picked up the girl to stay with him and Alice, who he had remarried shortly after they reconnected. Miss Janice had become Missus Janice four months ago when her now husband Tony was on leave from an overseas tour with his wing from the Air Force where he served as a fighter pilot. He gave the girl a thoughtful look, "Hmmm, interesting," He mused, "Let me make sure Miss Janice is okay with you interviewing her and if she says 'Yes' then by Elvis you can write your story."

The little girl beamed and bounced on his lap before placing a quick kiss on his prickly cheek, "Thank you Grandpa Perry!"

"You're welcome, Hunny." He smiled at her as she climbed down from his lap and sprinted to her desk, quickly pulling out a notepad and pencil to 'write' her notes which would later be dictated to one of her parents as they typed her copy which would be printed in the back of the child care's monthly bulletin. With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he picked up the phone and quickly cleared the interview with Janice.

Lois watched her daughter dart out of Perry's office with nary a quick glance in her mother's direction as she passed her. Perry was just setting the phone down as Lois entered his doorframe and knocked. "Come on in," Perry waved her in.

"What is that about?" Lois gestured toward Laurel who had her head down concentrating on her writing.

"It seems your little investigator there overheard Janice telling Mary that she has an ultrasound next week," Perry explained, "She wanted to interview Janice to find out why she's acting 'suspicious.'" He held up air quotes around the last word.

"Of course she did," Lois chuckled, "Sometimes I think that girl has the ears of Superman."

"Did you come in for a reason?" Perry refocused her.

"Yes, I was just going to drop off my copy for the interview with the Mayor about the misplaced park funding." She handed him a manila folder with her story, "Also I was hoping you and Alice could watch Laurel tomorrow afternoon. Clark and I have and appointment we have to be at and my dad's working, my mom's out of town, and the Kents, well…"

"You know you don't need to ask; we love watching her. She's probably the closest we'll ever get to a grandchild what with Jerry still in prison." Perry smiled warmly, "You haven't been drinking the same water that Janice has, have you?"

"No, at least not yet Perry," Lois assured him, taking a seat on the chair across from him, "But depending on how the appointment goes, I may have to take a few sips."

"You and Clark might be trying again?" Perry asked excitedly.

"Maybe, we had been having some trouble but then Laurel came along. We put it off for a little bit, but we're thinking she's old enough to understand not having all of our attention so we're hoping to try again soon." Lois explained, picking a speck of lint from her skirt, "We just want to make sure everything is working properly before we get too far into it."

"Well I wish you luck," Perry nodded, "You know Elvis and Pricilla had some trouble getting pregnant before they had Lisa Marie. It worked out in the end for them, I'm sure it'll be no different for you and Clark."

"Thanks, Perry," Lois smiled as she stood.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an article to assign to miss junior cub reporter." Perry nodded toward Laurel's desk before walking Lois to the door of his office.

The next afternoon, a nervous Lois and Clark walked into the private office of Dr. Bernard Klein where they were greeted by the scientist and his colleague, Dr. Sam Lane. "Please sit," The former doctor gestured toward a worn grey couch. As soon as the couple was seated, he nodded to Sam to take over the consultation.

"As the two of you know, Bernie and I have been working on your situation over the past couple years," Sam started, "We think we may have found a solution, or at the least a treatment. Of course this is by no way proven, and it may take a bit to get right…"

"Dad, spit it out," Lois huffed.

"We think with the right dosage of a mix of red and green kryptonite we may be able to temporarily alter Clark's invulnerability enough to allow for conception to occur. As you know, with normal conception, once the sperm and egg meet, it's absorbed into the ovum to create the zygote. The problem we've noticed is that Clark's sperm wasn't able to be absorbed by your ovum because it still possessed that same invulnerability. We think that if Clark is rendered temporarily invulnerable long enough for vulnerable sperm to be created, it may aid in conception."

"Sounds reasonable, but how much green kryptonite are we talking about here?" Clark asked nervously.

"We know that it makes you sick, so we will start with a very minute amount, barely more than a few specks of ground kryptonite in a sugar pill and increase the dosage until we get the desired result. Same with the red kryptonite, we noticed that it has some physiological effects on you as well and can counteract some of the more severe side effects of the green kryptonite such as weakness and nausea." Sam explained, "Our theory is once we find the right levels, if you take one of these pills about 12 to 24 hours before attempting conception, it should have the desired result. That also means some work on your part, Lois. You will need to start charting your cycles so we can pinpoint opportune windows for conception."

"My cycle should be starting sometime next week," Lois shrugged, "I'll start keeping track of it then."

"Good, good," Sam nodded before turning to Clark, "We have some of Lois' eggs in deep storage right now, so that we can best utilize this time together, I think we should get a start on trying to figure out your dosage."

"How do you mean?" Clark asked awkwardly.

"Well, we would start by giving you a dose tomorrow and have you come back the next day to provide a sample which we will test. We'll repeat this every 4 or 5 days until we find a suitable dosage." Dr. Klein explained, "Once we find it, and you're ready of course, you'll take your dosage the day before Lois' fertile period starts and keep taking it for the three days or so that you try to conceive."

"You're taking all the spontaneity and romance out of the process, Dr. Klein," Lois remarked, a sarcastic smirk on her lips.

"I'm sorry, Lois, but I'm a clinical man," Dr. Klein shrugged his shoulders in apology, "You know I don't have a very good bedside manner."

"She's joking Bernie," Sam chuckled, "Do either of you have any questions about how we proceed?"

"Will any child from us have super powers?" Lois asked.

"It's really too soon to tell," Dr. Klein shrugged, "We don't know if reducing Clark's invulnerability will restrict or repress those traits. It'd be a waiting game, until they reached adolescence, isn't that when you said your abilities began to surface?" He posed the question to Clark.

"I think that's when my folks first started noticing it." Clark shrugged, "But it also could have been that I'd traveled so long it took my body a bit to acclimate to this planet. It's entirely possible that with our children, abilities may appear sooner. I mean Laurel is already pretty strong for her age."

"Laurel is Kryptonian?" Dr. Klein looked surprised, "I didn't know that. Is she yours? I mean biologically? I know you took off with that super dame a little while before you married Lois."

"Kind of, it's kinda a long story. She's not exactly mine, biologically, but she's very closely related to me and Lady Zara, the 'super dame' you are referring to." Clark explained, "Due to the civil unrest on New Krypton over the loss of General Zod, Zara and her husband, Ching, decided that it wasn't safe for Laurel to be raised there and gave her to us to adopt."

"Fascinating," The older man nodded.

"Oh speaking of which," Lois piped in, "Laurel is going to need her vaccinations before attending school, not that they would make much difference for her, but the preschool is insisting on it."

"I'll order them up," Sam nodded, "Just give me a heads up about when you're coming and I'll have some kryptonite standing by so we can take care of it without damaging our needles."

"Thanks, Daddy," Lois smiled, "Well I think that is it."

"The lady has spoken," Clark joked, "I'll see you gentlemen tomorrow for my first dosage."

"See you then," Sam shook Clark's hand and gave his daughter a hug, "You give that grandbaby of mine a hug and a kiss from Grandpa Sam."

"We will," Lois promised, and with a wave the couple was out the door.

"She makes such a good mother for that little girl," Sam sighed, "I didn't think she'd have it in her, but being a mother had really been a good thing for her."

"A kinder, gentler, Lois." Dr. Klein joked.

"Something like that," Sam smiled and patted his friend and colleague on the back.


	9. Chapter 8

It had taken her a while, but Laurel Kent finally got her big interview, and she could even write the story herself now that she knew her letters. She smiled as she sat down at her desk, the person she was interviewing was sitting in her Daddy's office chair. The lady was really pretty with dark hair that shined as it fell just past her shoulders and a smile that made everyone around her smile. Laurel could see that the woman was excited and happy to be talking to her.

"Thank you for letting me interview you." She started, she knew after watching her Mommy and Daddy give more interviews than she could count that it was polite to tell them thank you.

"You're welcome," The lady grinned.

"Okay first question," Laurel started, her pencil poised above her notepad waiting to make notes, "Why have you been acting so funny lately?"

"I have a secret." The woman responded.

"But didn't your Mommy ever tell you it's not nice to keep secrets?" She asked as she wrote the _She has a secret_ in her notepad.

"Well, yes, but this is more of a secret so that I can give someone I love a good surprise." The woman replied.

"Like the party Grandpa Perry threw for my birthday?" Laurel prompted.

"No," The woman shook her head thoughtfully, "More like you found out something that another person would like and you're waiting to tell them until they can be really excited about it."

"Can you tell me the secret?" Laurel asked.

"I will in a minute." The woman nodded.

"Why have you been running out of the room so much?" Laurel asked, "Are you sick?"

"Yes and no," The woman shrugged, "It's called morning sickness, but it's really more like random times of the day sickness, but I'm not really sick."

"Why is it called morning sickness if you're not sick?" The girl looked up from her notes and cocked her head at the woman.

"I don't know, that's just what the call it." The woman answered, "Maybe because it makes you feel like you're going to throw up like you would if you had the flu. Sometimes I do throw up, but I feel a lot better after."

"Is this why you've had to so see the doctor so much?" Laurel asked.

"Yes, it is." The woman nodded, a smile spreading across her lips, "You see, I'm pregnant. That means I'm going to have a baby."

"How do you get a baby?" Laurel asked.

"I think you'll have to wait until you're a little older to find out." The woman smirked, "But the simple explanation is that when a Mommy and Daddy love each other a lot, they want to share it so they have a baby so they can share that love and make a family."

"And that's how a Mommy and a Daddy make a family?" Laurel put together the information.

"Yes, but there are different ways for babies to come to Mommies and Daddies," The woman patiently explained, "Sometimes a baby is grown in their mommy's belly, and other times the baby is grown in their mommy's heart."

"I don't understand." Laurel wrinkled her brow in concentration, "I know that babies grow in a mommy's tummy, but how can a baby grow in a mommy's heart?"

"Well some mommies can't or aren't ready to be mommies so they give their baby to another mommy and daddy who will love the baby as much as they do." The woman explained, "Some mommies and daddies want a baby but sometimes they can't grow one in the mommy's belly just yet, and even more love kids so much that they want to love a whole bunch of babies. When a mommy grows a baby in her belly she has a long time to get ready and fall in love with their baby, she can feel it move and she can talk to it every night. When a mommy grows a baby in her heart, she sometimes doesn't know if or when the baby will come, but she loves it just as much as she would have if she had grown the baby in her belly."

"I was a heart baby, right?" Laurel asked.

"Yes you were," The woman smiled warmly at her, "Your Mommy and Daddy wanted a baby but were not able to grow a belly baby just yet, but one night you came to them and they fell in love with you right away. You are even more special because you are one of the few people who are like you. Your Daddy comes from a place a long way away, he was also a heart baby, did you know that? Your Grammy grew him in her heart just like you grew in your mommy's heart. He had traveled a long way to come to them. You come from the same place, but it is a dangerous place and the woman whose belly you grew in loved you so much that she wanted you to be safe so she gave you to your mommy and daddy to keep you safe."

"So I have two mommies?" Laurel posed.

"Yes you do, all adopted kids have two mommies and two daddies all of who love them very much, even if they don't ever meet." The woman explained, "You may not ever meet the mommy and daddy who made you in your birth mommy's tummy, but that's because they live too far away to visit. It doesn't mean they don't love you any less. In fact, they were really sad that they had to send you away, but they knew that your mommy and daddy would love you a whole awful lot and that helped their hearts not hurt too much when they had to say goodbye."

"That's really sad," Laurel commented.

"It is, but it's also happy because that means you have a whole lot of people who love you, and not just your mommies and daddies, but all your grandmas and grandpas, and your aunties and uncles." The woman explained.

"So being a heart baby is just as good as being a tummy baby?" Laurel pondered.

"Yes, because whether you are a heart baby or a tummy belly, you are loved just the same by your mommy and Daddy." The woman explained before cocking her head and observing the little girl, "Do you think you have enough for your article?"

"I think so," Laurel smiled looking over the words she had wrote, "But don't go too far, I may need a quote later."

"Okay," The woman stood before pointing to a nearby desk, "I'll be just over there if you need me."

"Alright." Laurel smiled and turned back to her desk, writing as quickly as her little hand could go. She already knew she was going to ask Uncle Jimmy to type the article for her and as soon as she finished writing she started looking around for him. Luckily she didn't have to go far, just to the snack machine. "Hi Uncle Jimmy." She smiled up at him, trying to look as adorable as she could.

"Hey Laurel, what's up?" The tall man asked, brushing his floppy brown hair out of his bright blue eyes.

"I just wrote and article, but I need your help typing it up," She explained, "Daddy usually types my stories up, but I want this to be a surprise for him."

"Sure, I'd love to help you surprise CK," Jimmy smiled down at her, "But you need to do something for me."

"What's that?" She asked.

"Hmm, what do I want for payment?" He made a show of pondering before smiling and crouching down to the girl's level, "I know, I need a hug from my Laurie Bear and a double fudge crunch bar."

"I think I can do that," Laurel giggled, giving her uncle a hug, "Wait right there, I'll be right back." She ran off to get the requested candy bar from her mother, returning a short time later with not just one bar but two.

"Now we're talking," Jimmy laughed, "Let's go to my desk and I'll get typing." He led her to the desk that had been given to him when Perry had finally promoted from copy boy to full-fledged reporter. Glancing over the page the girl handed him, he grinned, "Oh this is gonna be good."

Twenty minutes later, sputtering of the nearby dot-matrix printer signaled the article's completion. Since he was taller, Jimmy carefully removed the connected sheets, separating them from one another and tearing off the spooling strips from the sides. He gave the two pages a once over before putting them in a manila envelope and handing it to Laurel who was standing by patiently. "Here you go, one story, hot off the presses." He smiled down at her.

"Thanks, Uncle Jimmy!" She hugged him one more time and ran towards Perry's office, "Chief, I have that story for you!"

"Great shades of Elvis, how did you get it typed up so fast?" He asked, leaning over his desk and taking the proffered envelope from her.

"Uncle Jimmy helped." She informed him, "I made sure he didn't have any other stories before I asked him."

"Good, well I'll make sure this makes the afternoon edition," Perry nodded, "Good work, now don't you have school?"

"Yes sir, Chief," She beamed before turning on her heel and heading to her mommy's desk where Lois waited to take her down to her preschool class.

That afternoon, the young Kent family walked through the front door of their townhouse. Laurel had the afternoon edition of the Planet that Perry had specially printed just for her hugged to her chest. "Daddy, I wrote an article today."

"You did?" Clark asked, settling on the couch as he lifted the girl into his lap. His wife soon joined him as he opened the paper to his daughter's article. "'Baby Love by Laurel Lane Kent'" He read the header then fell silent as his eyes quickly scanned the article, his grin growing larger by the second. As soon as he finished the short article, he looked between his daughter and his wife, a stunned look on his face. "Please tell me this isn't some kind of late April Fool's joke."

"No it's not," Lois smiled, taking his hand in her and laying it gently on her stomach which was already starting to show the faintest little bump just below her navel, "Happy Father's day Weekend."

"It worked?" Clark almost couldn't believe it.

"It worked," His wife confirmed, "We have our heart baby, and now we are going to have our tummy baby. Are you happy?"

"Happy doesn't even begin to describe it," Clark scooped his wife into his arms and swung her around. "How long have you known?"

"About a month or so," Lois grinned, "I had my suspicions long before, but was scared to get it checked out until I realized that I'd missed a couple cycles."

"So that means you're nearly three…" He calculated in his head as he set her down.

"Four, actually." Lois corrected before kissing him gently as he rubbed small circles on her lower back, "I guess third time was a charm."

"We should let your dad and Dr. Klein know," Clark stated, sitting on the couch once more and pulling his wife into his lap.

"Later, we can tell them later." She smiled as he nuzzled her neck, "Let's enjoy this, just the four of us." When Clark gave her a questioning look she chuckled, "You, me, Laurel, and the baby."

"I can't wait to see it," Clark sighed, gently running his thumb over her baby bump, "These next five months are going to be the longest of my life."

"Yeah," Lois nodded, a sparkle in her eye as she whispered, "If only one of us had x-ray vision, wouldn't that be neat?"

"Why do we need to wait five months to see the baby?" Laurel asked.

"It takes nine months for the baby to grow in Mommy's tummy," Clark explained, lifting his daughter onto the couch next to him, "Since it's already been in there about four months, that means there's still five months of growing it has to do. There are ways that we can see it, though." Clark continued, "One way is by having a doctor use an ultrasound machine to see inside Mommy's tummy, the other is by watching Mommy's tummy grow." He pulled his little girl closer so that she was kneeling beside him. He took her small hand and laid it just below Lois' belly button, "You feel that little bump?" Laurel nodded, "That's the baby, and that bump will get bigger as the baby gets larger."

"Like Miss Janice's did last year?" Laurel questioned, excited that she was starting to understand.

"Exactly like Miss Janice," Lois smiled at the wonder in her daughter's eyes as she watched her run her hand over her stomach much like Clark had been doing just a moment before.

"Cool," Janice grinned, "Hey can I call Grammy and Papa and see if they got their newspaper yet?"

"They wouldn't have gotten it yet," Lois shook her head, "It won't get to them until tomorrow, but you can call them and let them know to look for your story. Not too long, though, it is long distance."

"Okay!" Laurel jumped off the couch and grabbed the cordless, dialing the familiar number as she climbed the stairs to her room.

As soon as the girl was out of sight, the young parents curled up on the couch reveling in the glow of their newest edition. "You know," Lois spoke softly, resting her hand over her husband's, their rings glistening in the glow of the late afternoon sun that shone through their window. "There is one more way that you could see the baby, it's big enough you might be able to see it now. You might be able to tell me if it's a boy or a girl."

"Do you want to know?" Clark's eyes danced at the prospect of seeing his child.

"It would help with choosing a name and decorating the nursery." Lois shrugged. "Speaking of, do you want to move Laurel down the hall a ways and redo the nursery or do you want to just use the other bedroom for the baby?"

"I don't know," Clark sighed, "We don't have to decide tonight."

Lois nodded her agreement, and they sat in a comfortable silence for bit longer. Actually, excitement and curiosity hung heavy in the air, and despite how casual or secretive he tried to be, Lois caught Clark's eyes drifting to her midsection, brows furrowed in thought. His thumb never ceasing in its gentle back and forth motion on her stomach. She tried to repress a chuckle but failed, causing her husband to blush, knowing he'd been caught looking.

"You gonna sit there staring like an idiot or are you gonna take a real look?" She challenged, a smile playing on her lips.

Without another word, Clark shifted and laid Lois back long ways on the couch, propping her back against some throw pillows to keep her comfortable. Lois took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, encouraging him to continue. After a small smile was shared between them, Clark lowered his glasses to take his first real look at his child. He'd never tried to literally look through someone before, but was fascinated how his vision slowly took him deeper into his wife's body, layer by layer until he reached what he was looking for. A gauzy bubble surrounded his prize protecting and nourishing it, he looked deeper still to see his now 15-week-old child as it floated along. A grin spread across his face as he saw the baby in minute detail.

"What is it?" Lois asked, the question holding double meaning.

Clark smiled and whispered in her ear what he knew, before leaning down and resting his ear on her stomach, listening to the heartbeat of his child. He was so zoned in that he didn't hear Laurel until she was right next to him. "What'cha doing, Daddy?" She asked.

"I'm listening to the baby's heart beat." Clark smiled, "Do you want to try and hear?"

"Do you think she can?" Lois asked.

"I don't see why not, she's already displaying some of her abilities in small ways," Clark informed his wife as he pulled the girl near him and showed her where to rest her head. "Now listen very carefully, focus on what you are hearing, you'll hear a soft whooshing sound like the washing machine."

Laurel closed her eyes tightly, her brow furrowed in concentration in a similar manner to her father. A moment later, a wide smile split her face as she stood up and looked between her parents, "I heard it!" She laughed, "I heard the baby, it has hiccups."

"I know," Clark smiled, "Okay, enough baby talk for now, I think we start thinking about dinner."

"I want pizza," Laurel crowed, "Pizza is special day food and today is a special day." She reasoned.

"I think I have to agree," Clark nodded before heading to where Laurel had placed the phone in its charging cradle and quickly dialed the number, smiling at his wife and daughter who were curled up on the couch, his wife stroking the girl's soft curls as their daughter whispered secrets to her new sibling.


	10. Chapter 9

The rest of Lois' pregnancy flew by like a flash. As her due date grew nearer, the excitement of their friends and family became palpable. Everyone was excited to meet Baby Kent, but even more, everyone was curious to see how having a baby would change Lois. True she remained a hard hitting reporter even after she and Clark had adopted Laurel, but anyone who knew her could tell you that she had softened around the edges. Not that it was a bad thing, she just became more maternal, fiercely so if she was working on a story that involved children, especially if the children were being mistreated. More than once Clark had to talk her down from bringing them home.

Lois wasn't the only one who had changed, true Clark was always the gentler of the pair, but in little ways he had changed too. He became more watchful of Lois, and with the help of Perry, helped to steer her away from the more dangerous assignments, despite her protests. For as protective as he was, he'd also developed a little habit which Lois secretly loved. Every morning when they woke up, and every night when they went to bed, Clark would lean down and kiss her protruding stomach before talking to their child as she gently stroked his dark waves. She smiled softly remembering the 'secrets' he had told their little one the previous night before kissing her belly and her lips one more time before curling a protective arm over her side and stomach and drifting them off to sleep.

It wasn't even just those moments that he would do it either, if he was home or if they were alone when he got a call for Superman, he would rub her belly and tell their child, and Laurel if she was nearby to 'keep Mommy out of trouble' until he was back. Laurel thought it was funny, but stayed by her mother's side until her father returned, just in case. Laurel loved those moments, because that meant she could curl up on the couch and play games with her sibling. She would tap a spot on her mommy's tummy and wait for the baby to kick or push right back. Her favorite times were when the baby would stick its foot straight out and she could see its foot print in her mommy's side. Lois didn't love it quite as much but found it equally 'cool' as her daughter kept saying.

Soon Lois' due date was upon her, she found herself growing more anxious by the day knowing that the child within her was half Kryptonian. Clark did his best to reassure her that Kryptonian babies came the same way Earth babies did and that she would be fine, but it did nothing to diminish her fear. She vaguely remembered being told in health class that babies heads were malleable so that they could fit through the birth canal, but knowing that Clark himself was impervious to harm. That very thought caused her great concern when she thought of the birthing process, of course she knew that if worse came to worse, she could give birth by caesarian but was hesitant to ask for the surgery for fear of having to explain her reasons. She chuckled to herself imagining having to tell the doctors that she was having Superman's baby and would therefore be requiring a C-section.

"Mommy?" Came the soft voice of her daughter, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Lois shook her head, "What are you doing up?"

It was well past the girl's normal bedtime, as they were both aware. Normally Lois would send her back up to her room to sleep, but this night there was something about her daughter that seemed different. The girl's dark eyes were soft with concern as she looked up at her mother, her head cocked to the side as if listening to something.

"Is there something wrong?" Lois asked, laying sideways on the couch and inviting her daughter to sit beside her.

"Maybe," The girl shrugged, "I don't know. I thought I heard something."

"Something?" Lois asked, looking around for anything or anyone that was out of place. Clark was out saving the day yet again and was not due home for a while yet, at least according to the news reports. The fire he'd gone to assist with was larger than expected and the fire department was only just starting to get it under control.

"Someone?" Laurel continued, confusion written across her face, "It's like someone is calling out to me telling me that they are being squished."

"Squished?" Lois cocked her head to the side as she absentmindedly rubbed her stomach, she'd been having some dull pains in her back and side all day but had attributed it to being on her feet all day. All at once she felt her body tense, stronger than it had before, the tension moved from her back forward to her navel as if in a slow wave before finally subsiding. Lois simply took deep breaths and tried to focus on her daughter.

"There it is again," Laurel shook her head before looking up at her mother, "I just heard it, someone just said 'stop squishing me.'"

Lois almost didn't believe what she was hearing, "Just now, you mean?" But then it happened again, this time the wave came stronger and lasted longer. She watched as her daughter's eyes got wider, and darted around almost as if trying to seek out the source of what she was hearing.

"Uh-huh, and that time too," The girl whispered.

"That time too, what?" Clark asked, stepping down from the window seat and walking into the room, his deep red cape flowing behind him.

"Laurel said that she thought she heard someone say they were getting squished." Lois explained, her hand never ceasing its progressive circles. Another wave hit, they were starting to come closer together and each last longer.

"You can't hear that?" Laurel was almost crying.

"I can," Clark assured her, giving the girl's hand a squeeze before crouching to her level and meeting her eyes, "Remember how I said that people who are from where I am from can sometimes hear each other's thoughts?"

"Yeah," Laurel nodded slowly, her concerned eyes never leaving her mother.

"I think the baby is reacting to your mommy's contractions," He explained calmly, "In order for the baby to come out, her body has to push it out of her tummy. That means that the baby is going to be squeezed out."

"Like toothpaste?" Laurel cocked her head.

"Kinda," Clark chuckled, pausing just a moment as his wife's hand found his and squeezed while another contraction passed, "And probably just about as messy, but in the end we have a baby."

"Mommy and the baby are going to be okay, aren't they?" Laurel's eyes darted between her mother and her father, concern growing as each contraction passed.

"Of course we will be," Lois assured her, reaching out her hand, "Come here, Sweetie. This is just how babies are born, they grow in their mommy's tummies and then are pushed out when they are big enough to meet the world."

"Does it hurt?" Laurel asked.

"A little, and it probably will a lot more before we meet the baby," Lois answered honestly, "But I promise you, when it's all over me and the baby will be just fine."

"I don't want you to hurt," Tears shimmered in the girl's eyes.

"I know," Lois consoled her, "But sometimes we have to get hurt to be able to appreciate the more beautiful things in life."

"Okay," Laurel nodded before softly placing her hands over Lois' stomach, "I know you are getting squished, Baby, but it's a good thing," She whispered, "It means you are going to meet Mommy, Daddy, and me soon. I love you."

"Clark," Lois turned to her husband, "You may want to go get changed."

"Why?" He looked at her confused at the suggestion.

"Because we'd have a lot of explaining to do if Superman, rather than my husband, brought me into the maternity ward." Lois spoke patiently, nodding to the tights her husband still wore.

"Right, I'll be right back," Clark chuckled and true to his word, the girls saw a streak of blue rush up the stairs only to be followed by a multi colored one as Clark returned, clad in jeans and his old University of Kansas sweatshirt as he pushed he glasses up his nose. "I'm guessing that means we should probably be going soon."

"Yes Captain Obvious," Lois groaned, "Generally women in labor should be taken to the hospital… at least that is how it's primarily done here in the United States."

"Laurel, go get dressed," He pushed his daughter toward the stairs so that she could change out of her pajamas, "Then grab your pillow and a blanket and meet me in the car. Your mom and I will meet you out there."

"Okay," Laurel nodded before heading up the stairs as quick as her little legs would carry her. If her parents noticed that she moved faster than a typical kindergartener, they didn't acknowledge it. Within a minute she was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt bearing the logo of the Daily Planet and 'junior cub' on the back. She had her pillow under one arm and her hastily rolled up blanked under the other as she followed her parents out to the car for the short trip to the hospital.

"I'm gonna kill you," Lois groaned, sweat pouring down her cheeks from the exertion. "I don't know how, but I'm gonna do it."

Clark just smiled and wiped her heated brow as she railed at him as she had been doing for the last four hours since her labor had kicked into high gear. Secretly he was glad she wasn't threatening him with kryptonite, not only would it have been awkward to have to explain the threats away with the stream of medical staff who had been coming in and out, but it also meant that she really didn't mean what she was saying. He knew her words were just a product of the pain she was in.

"You're doing just fine, Missus Kent," The doctor encouraged after checking her progress, "You're a little more than nine centimeters, won't be long now until you can start pushing."

"I'd like to push that smug smile off his face," Lois groused low enough for Clark but no one else to hear, "He wouldn't be so jolly if he could feel how painful this is." She huffed as the medical staff exited, "This is all your fault by the way, 'Let's have a baby' you said, 'Your dad can figure out how,' you said. Great, brilliant idea, but I don't see you pushing 12 pounds of Earthtonian infant out of you!"

"'Earthtonian?'" Clark smirked slightly.

"Half Earthling, half Kryptonian," Lois explained, collapsing back on her pillow, catching her breath between contractions. "You know I love you, I really wouldn't kill you."

"I know, Honey, I know," Clark assured her, kissing her cheek before he felt Lois tense up again.

"I think we need the doctor," Lois cried, "I think it's time."

"Do you feel like you need to push?" Clark asked, his eyes darting between his wife's eyes and her stomach.

"Yes," She gasped for breath as the contraction passed. Clark nodded and started to leave when he felt her hand grip his harder, "Don't leave," she sounded so small to his ears, he hated seeing her like this. Clark simply nodded his understanding and returned to her bedside. Finding the small attached remote, he pressed the nurse's call button to page someone to come in.

Thankfully a few moments later a short blonde woman, not long out of nursing school stuck her head in. "Get the doctor," Clark instructed her. She simply nodded and disappeared once more, only to return a moment later with the doctor and the rest of the medical team who, upon checking Lois' progression once more, started prepping her for delivery.

An hour more passed, and Lois was rapidly losing strength, despite her husband's consistently encouraging words. "Okay, Missus Kent, I know you're tired but we're almost there," The doctor promised, "I can see the head now, okay, once more I need you to push, push, 10, 9, 8, you're doing good, Lois, 7, 6, 5, halfway there, 4, 3, 2, 1, the baby's crowning!" A moment passed and yet another countdown began, "We have a shoulder!" The doctor cried out, "Just a couple more, good pushes," an agonizing 4 minutes later, the words the couple most wanted to hear in the world reached their lips. They barely heard the doctor announcing that they had a healthy baby over the hearty cries of their newborn infant.

Lois collapsed against Clark, tears of joy streaming down her face as the medical staff cut the umbilical cord and cleaned up the baby while others helped her with the after birth. Before she knew it, a soft bundle of blankets was handed to her. "Congratulations," the nurse gave her a gentle smile before turning and exiting the room to let their waiting friend and family know that they could come in to visit.

Lois gently pulled the blanket down to observe the sleeping infant. It was clear that as much as Laurel looked like Zara with a touch of Clark, this baby looked just like Clark, but had her nose. The baby sniffled a bit before settling once more in its mother's arms.

A soft knock sounded at the door followed closely by Laurel who ran toward the bed. Clark lifted her up and sat her at the foot of the bed and, after being warned about her mother being very sore, crawled softly closer to get a closer look to her sibling. The crowd of grandparents and extended, although not technically related, family surrounded the small family, expectant looks on each and every face.

"Well don't just keep us in suspense," Perry chuckled, saying what everyone was thinking.

Lois and Clark simply looked at each other before Lois pulled the blanket back to reveal the infant's face while Clark made the introductions, "We are very proud to introduce you to our son, Jerome Kal Samuel Kent."

Murmurs of congratulations poured over them as the baby was gently passed from parents to grandparents to honorary aunts and uncles before he let out a wail. "Okay, I think that's enough excitement for today," Martha spoke up, taking the baby from Lucy and handing him back to his mother, "I think someone is hungry." She smiled warmly before shooing everyone out of the room. "Come on Laurel, let's let your brother eat in peace, Papa and I will take you home."

Laurel looked disappointed that she couldn't stay but could sense her brother's exhaustion, it has been a long day for him as well as for their mother. "Okay," She nodded before turning to her parents and giving them a hug and a kiss, "Bye Daddy, bye Mommy, bye Jerome." She placed a soft kiss on her brother's head before sliding off the side of the bed and taking her Grammy's hand.

"I never thought I would see this day," Clark sighed, watching in awe as Lois adjusted herself and began to feed their child. "If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I would be married to the most beautiful woman in the universe with whom I would have two equally beautiful children, I would have said they were nuts."

"Glad to be proven wrong?" Lois' lips turned up in a soft smile.

"Ecstatic," He pressed his lips to hers, careful to not squish the baby who was still drinking greedily, slurps and hungry moans escaping his small lips. "Are you okay?" He asked his wife, noticing a small grimace that passed across her face.

"I'm fine," Lois assured him, "It just takes some getting used to, Alice warned me that they may be tender for a little bit until my body gets used to him."

Clark silently nodded his understanding before following his wife's gaze back down to their son. The new parents glowed with joy, they didn't know if they would ever have more children in the future, but for now were satisfied that their family was, at least for the moment, was complete.


	11. Epilogue

"Mom!" Jerome called, trundling down the stairs.

"Jerome, how many times have I told you not to run in the house?" Lois demanded.

"Probably about as many times as you have told Dad not to super-speed around the house?" Came the 10-year old's cheeky reply.

Lois couldn't help but chuckle at her son, who was the spitting image of her husband at the same age. She couldn't stay mad at him either, between the warm chocolate eyes and gentle smirk, it was like trying to stay angry at the boy's father which was damn near impossible. She just rolled her eyes and sighed, "In any event, stop, one of these days you're going to lose control and put a hole in the wall." She gently reprimanded him, "Now what were you 'Mom'-ing me about?"

"Laurel won't come out of the bathroom, she's been in there for hours!" He whined.

"Fine, go use the one in your father's and my room, I'll go get your sister." Lois instructed, following her son up the stairs only to part ways when she reached the room in question and gently knocked. "Laurel, are you in there sweetie?"

"Yeah," The teenager grunted, struggling with something behind the door.

"Can I come in?" Lois asked. A moment later she heard the lock disengage and the door swung open. "What're you do..."

"I found your old costume and thought I'd try it on, but it doesn't fit right." Laurel sighed trying to adjust the magenta and purple unitard her mother had worn nearly 17 years before.

"And just why did you feel the sudden urge to go digging through that specific closet?" Lois quirked an amused eye brow at her daughter, knowing that accessing the secret closet in the living room wasn't something you just happened to do.

"I dunno," the girl sighed, sitting on the edge of the tub, fidgeting with the outfit which was too short and tight in the legs and baggy on the top.

"I think you do," Lois smiled at her, lowering the cover of the toilet and taking a seat.

"How old was Dad when he started doing what he does?" Laurel gave her mother an unsure look as if questioning if she should even be asking such things.

"I don't know, exactly," Lois mused, knowing the girl didn't just mean journalism, "I think he did little things here and there when he was about your age, but really didn't throw himself into it until he moved to metropolis when he was about 25 or 26. Your Grammy made his first uniform, she made that one too." She nodded toward the bright tights her daughter now wore.

Laurel nodded, sitting quietly for a moment before murmuring something. "Laurel, I don't have the hearing you and your father have, so you're going to have to speak up."

"I asked how you would feel about me getting into the family business." Laurel looked up at her mother a mix of uncertainty and hope waring on her young face.

"I think so long as you can keep up with your homework, I'm okay with it," The women looked up, surprised at the warm voice that had answered. Both smiling as they saw Clark leaning casually against the doorframe of the bathroom in his pressed slacks and dress shirt, his tie loose enough to show a glimpse of blue at his neck. "But you have to stick close by me. You can be my apprentice of sorts, but you must do exactly as I say when I say it. Understood?"

"Really?" Laurel beamed, "You really mean it?" Clark nodded, "Wow, did you hear that Mom?"

"Yes I heard it," Lois nodded before turning to her husband, "You keep her safe, and away from the green and red stuff."

"Aw, Mom, you know that Grandpa and Dr. Klein have the last of that stuff locked tightly up in the vault at Starr Labs," Laurel sighed.

"I promise that, aside from extremely controlled situations, that our daughter will not get near Kryptonite of any color." Clark assured his wife before turning to his daughter, "Go get changed, we're gonna go visit Grammy and her sewing machine."

Laurel nodded excitedly as she sped down the hallway and into her room, only to appear dressed in jeans and a purple t-shirt looking very much like the almost 16-year-old girl she was. Her long dark hair was pulled up in a messy topknot and, much to her father's dismay, wore a light dusting of make-up that was barely concealed by the thick black glasses she wore. "Okay, let's go!"

"We'll probably be back after dinner," Clark kissed his wife who simply nodded as she followed them toward the back door. With a small wave, she watched as her husband and then daughter took to the sky before a streak of blue and purple streaked across the late afternoon sky.

A few days later, Lois was sitting at her desk, putting the finishing touches on an article that Perry had her editing. Everyone knew he was getting ready to retire, for real this time, and was grooming her and Clark to take over his position as co-editors in chief of the paper. "Lois, Honey, you gotta come look at this," Perry called her over to the bay of flat screens that lined the eastern wall of the news room where everyone was gathered.

She smirked as she watched her husband in that blue suit that never ceased to hug him in all the right places appeared on screen followed closely by a young woman in a Blue, long-sleeved, leotard, yellow belt, and a deep red skirt that fell just a few inches above her knees, and tall red boots. She wore a red cape that flowed from her shoulders down to the back of her knees. Across her chest was the crest of the House of El.

"Who do you think she is?" Jim Olsen, as he was now known, asked from beside her.

"I don't know Jim," Lois sighed, "But I think we're about to find out."

There was a commotion on the screen as several reporters vied for the attention of the two superheroes. Superman simply smiled and wave a hand to silence them, "I will answer all your questions, but please let me speak and I'm sure what I have to say will satisfy your curiosity." He smiled and placed a gentle hand on the young woman's shoulder, "I would like to introduce you to Supergirl. I have taken her under my wing as my apprentice of sorts until she is able to get on her feet."

"Superman, is she related to you?" A woman who had long blonde hair in a French twist asked, "I couldn't help but notice the similar uniforms."

"Yes, I am very proud to say that Supergirl is my daughter." Superman gave the younger woman a fatherly grin.

"In light of this recent development, is it accurate to say that there was more than crime fighting going on between you and Ultra-Woman 17 years ago?" A man spoke up.

"I try to keep my personal life private. However, if you must know, yes, Ultra-Woman is Supergirl's mother." Superman confirmed, "She and I continued to see each other after she left Metropolis and later were blessed with Supergirl."

"Supergirl, how does it feel to grow up in the shadow of your parents?" Lois recognized the voice of their newest intern, Henry.

"I don't think 'growing up in their shadow' is exactly the way I would put it," Supergirl chuckled, "Having them as parents has inspired me to be the best person I can be. It is because of their influence on my life that I want to follow in their footsteps to protect this fair city and any other that needs my help. I am proud to be their daughter; I just hope that I can be half the person that either one of them are."

Lois did her best not to cry at the sentiments expressed by the young woman but was quickly losing the battle. Of course the battle was short lived, replaced by a chuckle when she once again heard Henry's voice over the television.

"Supergirl, do you have a boyfriend?"

Supergirl looked a little surprised by the question. As Laurel Kent, she did have a crush on the newest Planet intern, not that she would ever admit it to anyone but herself. However, as Supergirl, she couldn't admit to such feelings, or maybe she could. A soft smile spread across her lips as she spoke, "No, I don't have a boyfriend, but if I do find one, you'll be the first to know."

Lois didn't miss the look that crossed Superman's face at the girl's statement, and couldn't help but laugh. They knew the day was coming that she would turn her eye toward someone, but she knew her husband was far from being ready.

"Would you ever consider going out with a newsman?" Henry persisted, much to the amusement of the other reporters around him.

Superman whispered something to Supergirl before she turned back to the crowd and offered a small smile to the young intern, remembering what her mother had told her she'd once said to another young intern, "You're cute." Was all she said before she followed her father skyward for destinations unknown to the public.

Moments later, the elevator bell rang as Clark and Laurel stepped out. "Did we miss anything?" He asked, straightening his tie as Laurel followed him into the bullpen.

"Superman apparently has an apprentice now," Lois smirked, "And apparently crime fighting runs in the family, she's his daughter."

"Fancy that," Clark gave her a knowing look before kissing her cheek, "Well, I'd better get back to work. Laurel, why don't you go ask Perry if he needs anything."

"Okay," Laurel nodded setting off in search of the old editor. She wasn't watching where she was going and suddenly fell to the ground in a flurry of papers as her glasses came loose from her face. "Sorry," She blushed, picking up her glasses and sliding them back on.

"Not a problem Laur," Came a gentle voice that sent thrills down her spine every time she heard it, "I wasn't watching where I was going." The young man before her collected his papers and stood, offering her a hand up.

Laurel brushed off her denim skirt and allowed her to assist her to her feet. When she finally met the deep green eyes of the new intern, she faltered. "Th-Thanks," she stammered.

"You're welcome," Henry gave her a small smile, "You know, you kind of look like… what am I thinking? Never mind."

"Henry, stop bugging Laurel and get back to work," Jim playfully scolded him, "Just because you're my cousin doesn't mean that Perry won't fire you in a heartbeat if he finds out you're slacking off."

"Fine, I'm gone." Henry grinned. "You know Laurel, you should consider contacts. I bet you'd look cute without the glasses." He called over his shoulder.

"He's right you know," Jim gave her a knowing look, "I bet you would look just super."


End file.
